Fighter
by WalkingPotterGirl14
Summary: Annie has been alone all her life, having been abandoned by her birth mother when she was hours old on the steps of an orphanage. And she's done well with. Twenty seven years later, still alone, she is surviving the apocalypse easily, but when she is saved by a mysterious crossbow wielding stranger, she somehow figures out that being with someone isn't that bad after all.
1. Little Orphan Annie

_The sun'll come out tomorrow  
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun  
Just thinkin' about tomorrow  
Clear away the cobwebs and the sorrow till' there's none_

_When I'm stuck with a day that's grey and lonely  
I just stick up my chin and grin and say oh_

_The sun'll come out tomorrow  
So you got to hang on till' tomorrow, come what may!  
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow  
You're only a day away!_

* * *

What's the first thing you would do if the zombie apocalypse started and you had no where to go? No family to run to or protect? No person to be with? That's basically what Annabeth Evans life was like now. More commonly known as Annie.

Annie had never had a family. She was abandoned on the porch step of some orphanage in NYC when she was only hours old. Her mother never wanted her and even looking at her didn't make her want the daughter. She was left to rot. If it wasn't for the place taking her in, she would have died within the first hour she was left on the step.

The orphanage was small, at least compared to some of the other places in NYC that held homeless kids. The first floor was where they ate and met, and there was a lot in the back where they would play and have fun. The second floor was the school area, where there were plenty of classrooms, art room, dance rooms, music rooms, and a big library. The third floor was where they slept, plenty of giant rooms filled with bunk beds upon bunk beds, where each and every girl would wait each day to find their perfect family.

Annie wasn't like those girls though. Annie was a realist. That and the fact that no one seemed to want her at all. Annie was something special compared to the others. Most girls would gather outside and play hopscotch during recess, or gather around to have a tea party during lunch, or swap stories during class, or play with dolls at night. But Annie, she would stay in the library during recess and read a book, read a book during lunch, read a book during class, or read a book at night. She was a total geek.

But reading was the only way she could escape from the unreal life that her roommates were living. They thought that one day everything would be fine, and they would all be adopted and living in homes where their mommy and daddy would love them, and they would get to eat ice cream, and ride a horse, and meet Santa Clause. But Annie knew that she wouldn't get to do any of that. At least for a long time.

So she focused her life on her studies, focused in the school classes that they had there, and became top of her small class there. She even decided that when she was finally allowed to leave the orphanage when she was eighteen that she was going to take the SAT's to get into college, and she did. She attended Columbia University on a full scholarship.

Now, being the naïve child that she was, she didn't know how big of an honor this was. She just took the tests and got in. She had no clue how hard it was. But that's what made her special. She was something special.

But she only had one friend all while growing up, so, so much for being special. And she was eventually adopted and taken away from her as well. Her name was Jill, and she was the only person in the old run down building that would talk to her. When she left, she didn't talk to anyone else accept for the teachers and for the caretakers.

But as life went on, so did hers. She grew up, and grew into a fine woman at that. With her dark brown wavy hair to her bright green eyes that were filled with wonder, then all the way down to her slender body with curves that hugged the jeans she would wear. She grew up into a fine specimen. But she had never even experienced the love of someone ever. No man ever seemed to want to touch her.

She was just that weird.

When she was little, she always dreamed about one thing, having the perfect guy. But apparently that would never work out for her. And here she was, 27 years later, doing shit with no one. In fact, the only thing that had brought her joy when she was younger was reading and sneaking into Broadway shows. One always seemed appealing to her.

Annie. The story of the little red headed girl who found her way into the heart of someone who seemed to not be able to love. She sure as hell didn't look like her at all, but she admired her. She wished Annie was real. They would have been good friends. Annie and Annabeth. But she went by Annie, so she guessed that would never work out.

When she turned 25, she decided to spend a week down in Georgia with a few of the few friends she had made in college. They seemed to be just as crazy as her, having a few of them being gay, but it was stills something. Her heart still ached for Jill though. She missed her friend. She wanted her to be there with her. She was her only true friend.

And that's when shit hit the fan. Her friend Jack had been the first one to go. They were sitting outside a bar when some crazy person came up and bit his hand. He immediately pushed the guy away, laughing it off about a moment later with them, when someone shot him in the head, ending his life as soon as it started. The whole group screamed in horror, as Annie kind of just stared.

Chaos broke out then. More crazy people had come and tried to eat them. Two more of her friends got bit, and she had to leave them behind, run off into the darkness by herself, like she had been doing for the first 24 years of her life. She had just gotten used to people being around her. No being around anyone was like a breath of fresh air for her.

She had been in a dress that night, and changed into something more appropriate. And from then on she knew that the world had gone psycho bullshit crazy, her friends were dead, and she needed to keep going. She was now, and forever would be, little orphan Annie. With no one around her.

That was two years ago, and now she was in the room of some psycho, trying to find a way out, before the worst could happen. She was not going to be going down now. She will keep surviving this world. She was not going to get killed.

She banged against the window, trying to maybe get the attraction of something outside, but all it got were the few passing geeks that wanted to chow down on her flesh. She growls in anger and frustration.

And that's when the door banged open.

* * *

**Feedback would be appreciated as this is my first time writing a story like this. Thanks for reading 3**


	2. Meeting Daryl

_You shout it out__  
__But I can't hear a word you say__  
__I'm talking loud not saying much__  
__I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet__  
__You shoot me down, but I get up__I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose__  
__Fire away, fire away__  
__Ricochet, you take your aim__  
__Fire away, fire away__  
__You shoot me down but I won't fall__  
__I am titanium__  
__You shoot me down but I won't fall__  
__I am titanium_

* * *

"_Annie," she hears from outside the dorm room door. "Annie, please come out." The little girl stays under the covers, her purple duvet hiding the mess that had become her hair._

"_I'm not coming back downstairs!" she yells back. Ms. Hilly sighs._

"_Sweetie, they want to apologize-"_

"_They never mean it!" she screams finally, jumping down from her bed and going to the door. She latches her hand onto the knob and throws open the entrance, surprising the elder in front of her. "And they always do it again!" she cries. "They're never sorry!"_

_Ms. Hilly leans down and takes pity on the small nine year old girl in front of her. From her head to her feet, she was covered in blue, purple, and red paint that the little girls had spilled on her head when she was reading outside instead of playing with the other girls. It had ruined her book and her hair. She wipes some of the paint from her eyes and sighs._

"_Honey, I wish I could figure out why, but right now we have to get you cleaned up. Get all the paint out of your hair." Annie looks at her for a minute before sighing, grabbing a towel off the wall, and heading out to the bathrooms down the wall. "Annie it will get better," Ms. Hilly says to her as she walks down the creaky corridor. _

"_Yeah, course it will," she replies, shaking her head. "Dumb bitch," she mutters under her breath as she walks into the showers. She turns on the shower head and lets the water get lukewarm before stepping in. "It'll get better when all of them are out of my life," she hisses as the paint washes off her body and goes down the drain to who the hell knows where in the sewer system. She didn't care. All she wanted to do was get this crap off her body. Her pity party was over. She didn't get to be sorry._

* * *

Annie leans against the wall as the door is lurched open and the terrifyingly greasy man looks at her with anger in his eyes. "How the hell did you escape that tie?" he asks, walking up to her and grabbing her wrist. She tries to lurch her arm away, but the man was too strong for her. She was a weakling against him.

"I'm full of surprises. Who knows, you might end up getting killed today," she spits at him. He smiles menacingly at her, tightening his grip on her wrist, and she cringes slightly, but not that much that he would have wanted to see her in.

"I highly doubt that girlie. I'm twice your size. There's no way you could beat me even if you tried." She spits in his face, and he looks at her, eyes full of hatred, and throws her into the wall, tearing off her shirt in the process. She lands against the wall with a resounding 'oof' and falls to the floor. The man comes over and drags her to stand. "Now you listen to me. You will stop fighting me and you are going to do what I tell you to do. Got it?" She glares at him. He stabs something into her arm and she cries out in pain. "GOT IT?" he repeats forcefully.

"Got it," she groans out, still trying to escape his grip. He chuckles, letting his grip loosen a bit around her wrist. She needed to get out of there. Fast.

"Good," he purrs to her, laying her down on the floor. She backs up in the wall and he blocks her by putting his arms on both sides of her head. His eyes glaze over her body for a moment, and she squirms under his stare, before looking back at her. "I don't want any complaining, any whining, or any screaming," he growls, going to touch her. Nope. No way. She was not letting this happen.

"In your motherfucking dreams, faggot!" she screams, kneeing him in the balls. He cries out in pain and she takes her moment to escape from his grip and goes for her gun that was in his belt, grabbing it and pointing it at him. But before she could get a clear shot, he knocks it out of her hand and his arms go around her neck.

"You little bitch," he snarls. "I'm gonna make you pay for that. I'm gonna kill you. Yeah, snap that pretty little neck of yours in half. That'll be fun, right?" This was how it would end? At the hands of some rapist? "Any last words, you little slut?"

"Let 'er go," she hears from the doorway. The man turns around-effectively turning Annie around as well-and she sees that there was another man in the doorway, pointing a crossbow at the mans face, aimed right at his forehead. Annie looks at the man. He looked like he had taken a bit of a bath in dirt. He was dirty, and seemed to look a bit rough-bit he was what was holding her between life and death at the moment.

"The hell are you?" the man holding Annie asks.

"Someone ya don't want to mess with. Let the girl go," he snarls at the man. Annie doesn't make a sound even though the girl comment unnerved her to no end. She hated being called a girl. She was a woman. She was twenty seven for God's sake. But she still didn't say shit.

"Who are you to her?" he asks. "You just look like some redneck hick," he states. Annie thinks to herself. He did kind of look like one, but in a weird sort of way, he was sort of handsome at the same time. At least a lot better looking then the asshole holding her.

"She's part of a group of mine miles back," he replies. Annie furrows her brow but lets the man talk. "Went off to hunt a few days and didn't come back. Group sent me to go after her. Didn't expect to see her being held against some man about to kill her." The man chuckles.

"Well, she's been a bad girl," he says, grabbing her chin. "Little thing acts all nice in the beginning and then tries to stab me in the back-"

"You tried to rape me," she growls out.

"Shut up," he snarls at her. "She needs to be taken care of. I'm sure she's just a burden on your group. She means nothing. Not to mention she's a little bitch." The man doesn't move his crossbow from where he was aiming. "Come on man," he says, tightening his hold on her neck. "Just one little turn." The man then shoots the arrow, but not in the forehead, in his shoulder. The man cries out and lets go of Annie, who takes a knife from his belt and stabs it near the edge of his heart. He falls to the floor and backs away from him.

"Maldito idiota," she spits on him, where he lies on the floor bleeding. She grabs her shirt from the side of the room and throws it back on, then looks at the crossbow man, who was staring at her. "Are you gonna have your way with me now?" she asks hopelessly. "Wouldn't be the first time," she adds.

"No," he replies, a bit harshly at first. She raises an eyebrow at him. "I heard screaming and came. Nothing more than that." She nods, buttoning up her plaid shirt.

"Well, thanks," she says, finishing up her row of buttons. She walks up to him. "You basically saved my life…well, you did," she chuckles. "I'm Annie, by the way," she adds on, placing her hand out for him to shake. He eyes the hand first, then looks at her, before sighing and shaking it. She noticed he had a firm grip.

"Daryl," he replies, taking his hand back. She nods again.

"Are you alone?" she asks. He takes a moment to reply.

"I had a group…don't know if they're alive or not, but for now I'm on my own," he replies. She nods again, wiping the dirt that she had on her hands now on her pants.

"Well, that makes two of us. I've been alone since the beginning of all of this?" He looks at her surprised and confused.

"Since the beginning?" She nods.

"Two years. A few people now and then, but all seem to be crazy. You don't look that bad, but who knows. Might end up being a killer. And if you need help finding your group, I could help." He looks at her uninterested.

"Girl, do ya even know how to track?" She snorts, placing her hands on her hips.

"Ok, first, I'm not a girl. I'm a grown woman. I'm twenty seven. Second, if I didn't know how to track, I would probably not be alive right now. I have to know in order to get meat for myself, don't I? Third, never underestimate a woman from the Bronx. She can do a lot of stuff that many of you southern folk haven't seen in your whole entire life. Now, do you want my help or not?" She leans a bit to the side, in what she liked to call her sassy pose.

He looks at her a bit amused for a second before shaking his head. "Ya probably can't even keep up with me," he replies, walking out of the small shack. She gasps and runs in front of him.

"Then I guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh?" she replies, walking off. 'I'll prove him wrong,' she states. She didn't know why, but she wanted to prove herself to him. She didn't like being called slow. She was anything but.

* * *

**Feedback is always appreciated :) and just for tips, Beth didn't escape with Daryl after the prison. In my story he went off my himself. That's where this kind of leaves off. **

**Maldito Idiota- Fucking Asshole**


	3. Shelter

**If you wanna know, here it goes, gonna tell you there's****  
****A part of me that shows,****  
****If we're close gonna let you see,****  
****Everything****  
****But remember that you asked for it.****  
****I'm trying to do my best, to impress****  
****But its easier to let you****  
****Take a guess at the rest****  
****But you wanna hear what lives in my brain,****  
****and my heart,****  
****Well you asked for it.****  
****For your perusing****  
****At times confusing,****  
****Slightly amusing,****  
****Introducing me**

* * *

_Annie looks up from her copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when she hears a scream from the hallway. She rolls her eyes, placing her book gently down on the coffee table in the small library on the school floor, and walks over to the door. Opening it, she is immediately greeted by more screams that hurt her ears. She covers them and glares at the people aimlessly running around._

"_What the hell is happening?" she asks, grabbing one of the younger orphans by her shirt. Her eyes were wide with fear and she had tears streaming down her face. _

"_The World Trade Center was just hit by a plane," she whimpers. Annie lets go of her shirt in shock and she runs off. _

"_What?" she whispers under her breath. She runs out of the library and to a hall window. From where the orphanage was, she could get a clear view of the World Trade Center. And sure as hell, it was burning up, and from a distance, she thought she could see people jumping from the tower. "What the hell are they doing?" she whispers. "Who did this?" she says a bit louder._

_Now granted, she didn't have family who worked in the building. But the one thing that Annie did know was that Jill's parents worked in the World Trade Center, and if they died…then wouldn't she be back at the orphanage with her?_

_She shakes her head. She was terrible. Wishing the death on her friends parents. She didn't know what to do with herself now. So instead of running around screaming like everyone else was, she walks quietly back to the library and shuts the door behind her, making sure she wouldn't hear another sound that was disturb her enjoyment of reading about Harry and his friends._

* * *

Daryl had to admit. This girl had style.

From the moment he saw this woman, he could sense something about her that seemed…attractive in that survival sort of sense. She was someone you would probably want in the apocalypse. The way she looked and the way she acted. It just made her seem like she was meant to survive this world. And the way she talked to him…he knew she's gone through a lot.

And like she said, he definitely should not have underestimated her.

He hadn't even known this girl for a day, and she already had saved his life twice, yes, twice, and gotten them out of some sticky situations when there were one too many walkers. She knew her ways out and her ways in. And she wasn't even from here.

Right now, they were securing up an old building they had found that night, and she had been the one to suggest placing a couch in front of the door so no walkers would be able to get into the house. He had simply shook his head at her, thinking they would be fine and didn't have to move no damn couch, but then she simply rolls her eyes and moved the couch by herself. A whole entire couch, three seater and everything, by herself.

With her skinny little body,

He was pissed that she didn't actually listen to him but also amazed at the girls strength. It looked like she had no arm strength at all.

"Why the hell did ya do that?" he asks angrily. She shrugs her shoulders.

"So we don't get killed thanks to your stubbornness. I kind of don't want to die yet just because of some southern dude's stupid mistake." He glares at her at this, but she simply smirks. "You'll thank me later. I'm going to go check upstairs and see if the water's working or anything. You can check the kitchens for food." Before he could protest, she was already up the stairs.

"Are ya fucking kiddin' me?" he mumbles under his breath, turning to the kitchen. This girl was already taking over. He was not about to let that happen. He's the god damn one who saved her ass. As if he was gonna let her get in charge. He looks at the door and actually thinks about moving the couch before he hears a scream from upstairs.

Bolting up the steps as fast as he could, he goes to where the bathroom was and sees the door partially opened. He opens it and he sees that she was holding her hand out to the water that was falling from the shower head. He glares at her again.

"The hell are ya screamin' at?" She smiles at him. Fucking smiles. And he wanted to punch himself for thinking how cute it looked.

"There's warm water!" she says gleefully. "That's what I'm screaming about!" She goes back to the water and quickly takes off her shirt, to which Daryl's eyes widen and he feels heat pool up in his cheeks. She looks back and raises an eyebrow. "Jeez, acting like you haven't seen a woman naked before. I'm taking a shower, so I suggest you leave…unless you want to join me," she teases. If anything his face gets redder. She laughs. "I'm just shitting you," she replies. "Go get something ready to eat for dinner. Fry up those squirrels or something like that." He simply nods and steps out of the room, closing the door behind him. When he gets outside, he shakes his head, trying to get the image of her body out of his head.

While on the inside, Annie was chuckling to herself. He was fun to mess with.

* * *

After her shower was done, Annie had found some clothes in some drawers in a bedroom that seemed to fit her, but she decided to change into some PJ's. Looking closer, she finds a black tank top, shorts that seemed to reach the top of her thigh, which was a little short, and a nice big sweater she could wear over it.

And she changes. She looks at herself in the mirror and smiles. It fit her perfectly.

Searching through the shelves in the bedroom, she smiles when she sees a bottle of whisky, unopened, and ready to be drunk. Deciding this would be her apology to Daryl for being sort of a dick, they were gonna have some fun tonight.

She walks down the stairs, bottle of whisky in her hands. When Daryl hears her come down the stairs, he turns around, fight ready with all his points, but then he sees what she's wearing, and is rendered completely silent.

She smiles at him, then holds up the bottle of whisky.

"My apologies. Let's get drinking."

* * *

**Feedback is always appreciated! Reviews are awesome! Thanks for all the new followers and favorites! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed! Next chapter should be up later tonight. :) And we're going to be having some fun writing this alcohol scenes….lol jk XD **

**Song Lyrics: Introducing Me-Nick Jonas (Camp Rock 2)**


	4. Insidious

**Fill another cup up, feelin' on your butt what  
You don't even care now, I was unaware  
How fine you was before  
My buzz set in, my buzz set in**

**Blame it on the goose, gotcha feeling loose  
Blame it on the 'tron, catch me in a zone  
Blame it on the a-a-alcohol  
Blame it on the a-a-alcohol**

**Blame it on the vodka, blame it on the henny  
Blame it on the blue tap, got you feeling dizzy  
Blame it on the a-a-alcohol  
Blame it on the a-a-alcohol**

* * *

_Annie walks through the streets of New York while making sure to keep her bag close to her so no one would be able to take it. If this is what she needed to do in order to pay for those god damn field trips at the school then she would do it. She was not missing out on this._

_Bronx was a scary place to be at night. At least she thought that. Everyone seemed shady and she didn't trust anyone. Then again, she never really knew the feeling of trust when it came to someone. She had never had anyone to trust besides Jill. She missed Jill._

_She goes down an alleyway and into a door on the side, closing it behind her. Almost immediately, she's taken into the room where she was supposed to go and sat down in a chair. She glares at the men who brought her in but stopped when the person she came to talk to turned around in his chair. She smirks a bit._

"_All you need is a cat and you can look like an evil villain." The man doesn't chuckle. She looks down at her bag. She could never get a smile out of this man._

"_Do you have it?" he asks. She hands him the bag and he swipes it from her bag. He peeks inside and smiles, grabbing a bag from under him and handing it to her. "Good job, kid. You got your payment. Now get out," he hisses. The men drag her up and practically throw her out. She lands on the hard concrete floor and groans when she gets up, hearing the door slam behind her. In the distance she hears a dog howl. _

_She peeks into the bag and smiles sadly. There was the money she needed. What she did was bad, but she needed the money._

_She had enough in there to pay off her college debt if she had any. She thinks for a moment they gave her too much, but she just shakes her head and goes back to the campus. She would work out all the details later._

* * *

"I bet I can get this TV working," she says later after they had finished their dinner. She had to admit, the man could cook a mean squirrel. Better then she could when she was by herself. Maybe she should stick around this guy for a while. "I was pretty much a tech genius in college. I can fix practically anything." He snorts.

"Ya sure 'bout that?" he replies, plopping down on one of the couches still available-one of them was in front of the door after all. She raises an eyebrow.

"If I wasn't, then I wouldn't be risking my life back here where I could get possibly electrocuted." She moves the wires slightly in the back and smiles when she hears the click of the TV being turned on. She smirks at Daryl, who simply rolls his eyes. "See?" she replies, grabbing a piece of electrical tape from the cabinet next to her to secure the wires.

"Ok, so ya can fix stuff. Anyone can." She chuckles, finishing up the tape.

"You didn't think I could about a moment ago." She goes over to the movie section and looks at all the movies that this family must have had. Apparently they were big horror fans. "If I remember correctly-"

"Don't need ta explain it again," he says a bit annoyed at her. She was already getting under his skin, but in a way, it didn't bother him as some other people used to. He noticed she often did it with a teasing tone and didn't really mean it.

"Ok, just saying," she chuckles. "If the TV's working then the DVD player must be working as well," she murmurs, picking up two movies. "What do you say? Insidious or Sinister?" He raises an eyebrow.

"A movie?" he asks. She shrugs her shoulders.

"I mean, I know that we both haven't watched one in a while, so it'd be a treat. And they're horror movies. We could even make a drinking game out of them." He chuckles slightly, and she realizes that was the first time she heard him laugh. She liked it.

"How?" he replies. She smiles and puts Sinister back on the cabinet, then places Insidious in the DVD player. Turning back, she sits down on the floor, her back against the couch. She pats the spot next to her and he stares at her for a second before rolling his eyes again and coming down on the spot next to her. She smiles again.

"Well, there's about a million jumpscares in this movie. If you jump at one of the jumpscares, you take a swing of the bottle. Let's see who's more rank at the end of this," she chuckles. "I think it'll be you. You seem like someone who gets scared of horror movies."

"How are ya so sure?" he challenges. Before she could reply, the title screen pops up and both jump. "Damn it," he mumbles, taking the bottle and drinking. She laughs.

"This'll be a long movie," she chuckles.

* * *

It was about three quarters into the movie, and both survivors had had there share of alcohol, both equally tipsy. Annie was a bit more then Daryl was because she was not good when it came to horror movies, but she wasn't that drunk, at least not yet. But right now she was sort of getting bored of the movie.

"Let's play a game," she suddenly states, shocking Daryl out of his intense stare at the movie. "I'm bored," she adds on.

"What about the movie?" he asks amusedly. She shrugs her shoulders.

"It's getting boring," she groans. "How about two truths and a lie?" He stares again before sighing anf facing her.

"Whatever," he replies. He was too tired to care. She smiles again.

"Ok, you go first," she says gleefully. He raises an eyebrow at her, but that smile stopped him from saying anything to rain on her parade. 'Damn smile,' he thinks bitterly. This wasn't the time to be thinking of some girls smile. He was going to find his group tomorrow, with or without this girl.

Who was he kidding?

"Ok so…I had a brother…I lived in a prison…and I was a person in the army before all this," he says. She chuckles at that.

"Ok," she snickers. She puts her finger on her chin, staring at him. He had to restrain himself from squirming in his seat from her intense stare. "You weren't in the army," she says. He raises his eyebrows at this.

"How the hell did you get that so quickly?" he replies. She shrugs her shoulders.

"Well, to be honest I just guessed," she chuckles. "Ok….I'm an orphan, I went to Columbia University, and I guessed stared on GLEE." He burst out laughing at the last one and she smiles. "What? You have to figure it out." He raises his hands in surrender for a second.

"Give me a sec," he chuckles. "Um…ya didn't go on that show," he guessed. She nods, and he raises his eyebrow at her. "Really?"

"I don't have the talent to get on that show," she chuckles.

"You're an orphan?" he asks quietly. She looks down and nods.

"Yeah," she replies, looking back up to meet his eyes. "Left on a doorstep when I was only a few hours old. I don't know who my parents are, and I lived in an orphanage until I got accepted to Columbia and left that stinky hell hole."

"Hell hole?" She laughs bitterly.

"I had the worst person as my caretaker there. She did nothing but make my dorm clean and clean some more. But when I was alone, I would read. I had no friends except for one, and she got adopted, so I had eighteen years of being alone. That's why I've done so well the past couple of years. I'm just…used to it, I guess," she mumbles, looking back at the TV. The movie was almost done. She brings her knees up to her chest and sighs. "Just…no one, you know? Have no one to rely on…depend on. It felt so…natural being out there."

"Well, ya ain't alone anymore," he replies quietly. She looks up and smiles at him, only to find he's looking down. She moves over a bit and nudges his side, causing him to look up. And even though he seemed a bit reluctant, he sends a small half smile back at her.

"I know that," she replies, looking back at the TV. "Almost done," she yawns. "Who's more drunk?" she says sleepily.

"More like who's more tired," he replies, seeing her yawn. She nods, resting her head on his shoulder. He stiffens at her touch slightly.

"Yeah," she mumbles, and he practically feels her body slump and he knew she was passed out from the alcohol. He sighs, looking back at the TV. He looks at her and sees her chest rise and fall slowly. Yup, she was gone.

Getting up slowly, he turns off the TV and looks down at the girl. He couldn't just leave her there. Leaning down, he picks her up in his arms, not surprised at how light she felt, and took her up the stairs to the bedroom. He didn't know why he was doing this. But for some reason it felt right.

He finds the bedroom and lays her down gently on the bed, then taking one last glance, he leaves the bedroom and closes the door behind her, trying to get the image of Annie sleeping out of his mind. He needed to get some sleep and plan.

* * *

**Feedback always appreciated! Thanks for reading and review! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Song Lyrics: Blame it on the Alcohol-Jaime Foxx**


	5. Define Dancing

**Hold me close and hold me fast  
The magic spell you cast  
This is la vie en rose**

**When you kiss me, heaven sighs  
And though I close my eyes  
I see la vie en rose**

* * *

"_What do you think, Annie?" a small girl asks the little one who was reading a book on her top of the bunk bed. Annie looks down at her friend from the top and sees that she was holding some sort of painting in her hand. It was the city landscape. "Pretty cool? Right?" she states. Annie rolls her eyes._

"_Do you expect to get that in the museum any time soon?" she asks. Jill climbs to the top of the bunk and sits next to her friend._

"_Well, no-"_

"_Then what's the point?" Annie mumbles. "Why learn a skill when you're never going to use it to get money? Isn't that what we're doing when we get out of this hell hole?" Jill glares at her._

"_Swear!" she says. Annie rolls her eyes._

"_We live in an orphanage, Jill. It's not like we have parents that will punish us every time we say a bad word. Remember? We were abandoned. Life's a bitch," she replies. Jill looks down._

"_It's still bad," she mumbles, looking away at the window. Annie looks at the younger girl and sighs. She was only eight. She didn't know any better. Annie was two years older and she was the only person she had in the world right now to talk to. She didn't want to lose her. She sighs._

"_You know what? You're right," she says, going to her side and making her look at her. "I shouldn't curse like that. It's not ladylike. And I'm sorry for doing it around you, ok? It just slips out." Jill smiles at her, nodding._

"_I know," she replies. "But what do you think of my painting?" Annie smiles._

"_It's amazing," she replies, taking the small canvas from her tiny hands. She stares at it for a second and actually does admire her friends work. "It's great. You're really good for your age," she replies. Jill smiles at her._

"_Thank you!" she replies, giggling. Annie smiles at her. She really was an adorable kid. It wouldn't be long before she got adopted from a family, leaving her alone. She always ended up alone in the orphanage. But for now, she would cherish these small moments with her._

* * *

Annie stretches her arms as she wakes up the next morning, leaning up, immediately regretting it. She places her hands on her head and holds it tenderly. She didn't know why she chose to drink last night. She sincerely didn't do well with alcohol. She places her hands on her bed and-wait, bed?

She looks around and sees that she was on the queen sized bed of the bedroom she had found the clothes in yesterday. "How in the hell did I get up here?" she asks herself, then realizes she wasn't alone anymore and she was with Daryl.

And he must have carried her up there.

She blushes and groans to herself. She had only just met the guy and she fell asleep on him when she was drunk. How would she be able to face him this morning, knowing that he actually did. God she felt so embarrassed.

Slowly getting out of the bed, she goes to the drawers and sees what she could wear. Then, quickly taking off her clothes, she changes into some dark blue jeans, a while tank top, which wasn't really wise but she didn't care, and a plaid cover up that could also serve as something warmer when the night got cold. She throws on her boots and opens the door. Looking outside, she steps out and goes down the stairs.

When she reaches the bottom, she sees that Daryl was on one of the couches and was still asleep. In the moment, she really looked at him. She didn't know how old he was, but he looked like he was in his thirties, maybe around thirty five or thirty six, and she had to admit, he was handsome, in that southern sort of way. His arms were toned and it looked like he had defined muscles. The only thing that he really needed was a haircut. She wondered how long he had gone without taking a shower too. He had dirt all over his face and on his body.

Why hadn't he woken her up? She could have gladly taken the couch.

She shakes her head and goes to the kitchen to see what she could get. Looking in the cabinets, nothing really spiked her intrest except some crackers, which she took and started to nibble on. Walking around the small house, she found a little living room on the far side of it, and saw a nice piano on the other side. She puts the box of crackers down and walks over.

Sitting on the bench seat, she stretches her fingers. This was one of those pianos that you could make a bunch of sounds with while playing. You could make an entire orchestra happen on one instrument. It fascinated her to no end.

Putting her fingers on the correct keys, she smiles as she starts to play one of her favorite score pieces from one of her favorite movies in the world. 'Define Dancing,' from WALL-E. She loved that movie more than anything, and she loved the music more then she could bear to say.

Her fingers moved skillfully on the big piece, holding the keys in place when she needed to and hitting the right buttons to make her sound blissfully perfect. It was starting to sound like it did in the movie. She loved hearing it's beautiful sound.

She closes her eyes and thinks back to when the movie came out four years ago. When the world wasn't shit, when she was with friends back in her graduate years of college. When she saw the movie by herself just to listen to the music. She missed going to the theaters so much. It would take her to another place, to another world where she was just her. Not an orphan, not a misfit. Just her.

She gets to the middle and plays the quick keys nice and easily. She had easily memorized a piano like this since she was younger. Jill had taught her to pursue something even if they couldn't make a living out of it yet. She remembered the day with the paining. The day it all changed for her.

She gets to the end and lets the last note hold out a bit, taking a deep sigh and nodding. She needed to let that out. It had felt so good. She missed playing piano.

"Didn't know ya could play," she hears from behind her. She nearly jumps out of her seat and looks behind her. Daryl was up, and was leaning against the doorframe. Had he been watching her play…? She places a hand over her heart and sighs.

"Don't do that," she growls, shutting the piano behind her. "Scared the crap out of me," she mumbles.

"Ya should keeo yer guard up," he states. She rolls her eyes.

"Excuse me for wanting to have a little fun. Sorry if I woke you up," she replies, standing up from the bench and tucking it in.

"Isn't that song from the movie, uh…WALL-E?" he asks. She stops in her movements. Nearly everyone who had ever heard her play that had no clue what it was from. And they had all been college dignitaries. So how did this southern dude know what it was?

"How do you know that?" she whispers at him, turning around to meet his gaze. He shrugs his shoulders and looks down.

"Dunno, just sounded familiar, I guess," he replies. She smiles at him.

"Did you see the movie?" she asks. He looks up and narrows his eyes.

"What's it to ya?" he asks. She raises her hands in surrender.

"Nothing bad, just think it's cool you know the song," she replies. "I loved that movie. It's a good romance movie, family feel, and gives off a great message on the earth. Favorite Pixar movie by far, besides Up." She chuckles. "Here I am, talking about movies in the apocalypse. I'm sorry. Are we heading out anywhere today? Look for your group? Or am I going to be abandoned today?" she asks. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"I said last night ya weren't alone anymore. Stop thinkin' I'm just gonna go up and leave ya," he replies, and she could hear the bit of seriousness in his voice at that statement. She nods at him, still unsure of the whole situation she was in, but still believed him anyway.

"Ok," she replies softly, looking down at her feet for a moment. "Well, if we're going out to find your group, then we better get going before the sun goes down," she says, walking out of the room and to the door.

* * *

They had been on a roll the whole day after that morning. They actually had found some signs apparently from Daryl's old group, and she had been helping him along the way thanks to the skills she had picked up over the last couple of years. To be honest, she liked seeing him a bit excited to be finding his old group, but sad at the same time. Even though he said he wouldn't abandon her, once he found his group, he would drop her like a dead fly.

Right now, they had made a little campsite for the night and would continue to search in the morning, but for now, it was relaxing time for them. Her feet were tired.

"I like it here," she says suddenly. He looks at her from his side and raises an eyebrow.

"What's that mean?" he replies. She shrugs.

"Even in these circumstances, I like being outside in the fresh air. I was holed up in an orphanage for eighteen years of my life before I was free, and even then I was still living in the city with the polluted sky and clouds. It feels nice to feel the fresh breeze and hears the bugs sing." He snorts. "What?" she asks, chuckling a little.

"Bugs sing?" She smiles.

"Yeah, the cicadas. They're all communicating with each other," she replies, looking at him. He was looking at her with the most confused look on someone's face she had ever seen. She laughs. "I've read a lot of books in the orphanage library. That's how I became an expert at the piano. The night's I'd spend alone, I would practice and practice until I got everything right. I am a perfectionist, and it drives me crazy. But reading takes me away from that, and it changed my view on life and made me really like the outdoors. And now I'm like Pocahontas. Everything has a life, has a spirit." He shakes his head.

"Crazy girl," he mumbles under his breath. She laughs at this.

"Oh I know I'm crazy," she replies, looking at him through the flames. "I definitely know that. But that's what makes me special. And I'm damn proud of it." She thinks for a second. "How did you group evne get separated?" she asks. She sees him tense up a bit and she looks down. "If it's a sensitive subject, I understand. I won't ask it again," she replies, leaning down on the ground.

They were silent for a few minutes before he spoke up.

"A man attacked our place we were staying at and drove us out. We were spread off in different direction and haven't seen each other since," he replies. She looks at him.

"And how long has that been?" she asks. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Before I found ya? About two weeks," he replies. She nods, looking back up.

"I remember a group I had," she replies. "It was for a short time though. And it was basically for the same reasons as yours. In fact, it was the best group I've had since then. They were all so nice and accepting, and weren't total jackass's like other's I had come across. But they were sweet, and one of the men pissed off some guy, and he came with his group and destroyed them. Killed everyone. And then it was me alone again," she mumbles. She looks at him. "I know my groups long gone, but I have a feeling yours is going to be fine and alive. And if we ever find the asshole who separated you from your group, we'll have fun killing him, wont we?" she replies. He looks down at the ground, containing his smile.

He had just met this girl and he was already liking her style. He looks up and nods.

"Thanks," he replies. She smiles at him.

"No problem, bucko," she says, leaning back down on the ground. "I'm gonna head to sleep for a little while. You can wake me up when I have to take watch." He nods and watches as she leans down on the ground and closes her eyes. Before she could pass out entirely, she hears him speak.

"I did see the movie," he states softly. She turns over slowly and looks at him. "Granted it was on a dare from one of my stupid buddies, but I did see it. And I know the music was nice," he replies. She smiles at him.

"It really is," she says softly to him. "Goodnight, Daryl," she says, finally closing her eyes.

"Night, Annie," he replies quietly to her, looking out. He couldn't believe he told her that. But to be true, she was the kind of person he felt like he could say that to her. Not to mention he couldn't believe this girl remembered that movie.

* * *

**A/B: I'm actually watching WALL-E right now. Really guys. Look up the song Define Dancing. It's so good! I love it! And the song lyrics in the beginning are also featured in the movie. I love it so much! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed and review!**


	6. I've Been Alone

**Don't it feel like the wind is always howl'n?****  
****Don't it seem like there's never any light!****  
****Once a day, don't you wanna throw the towel in?****  
****It's easier than puttin' up a fight.****  
****No one's there when your dreams at night get creepy!****  
****No one cares if you grow or if you shrink!****  
****No one drys when your eyes get wet and weepy****  
****From all the cryin' you would think this place's a sink!****  
****Ohhhh!****  
****Empty belly life!****  
****Rotten smelly life!****  
****Full of sorrow life!****  
****No tomorrow life!****  
****Santa Claus we never see****  
****Santa Claus, what's that?****  
****Who's he?****  
****No one cares for you a smidge****  
****When you're in an orphanage!****  
****It's the hard knock life****!**

* * *

"_Annie!" she hears from outside the library doors. She digs deeper into her book of weapons. She was actually quite interested in reading about all the different sorts of guns and knives and machines you could use as a weapon to kill something. Maybe she was a psychopath. But the woman kept screaming her name. "ANNIE, GET YOUR SCRAWNY LITTLE ASS OUT HERE!" she yells. Annie growls, frustrated with the women here. _

"_I'M COMING!" she screams, throwing the book to the other side. She was sick of these people all around her. She marches over to the door and walks out into the hallway. And is immediately met with a pile of smelly and dirty clothes thrown on her. "What the-?" _

"_You are to clean these today. It's wash day for the girls," Miss. Destiny says. Annie looks up and frowns at her._

"_Don't tell me this is because I cursed in front of the little kids?" Miss. Destiny nods, a smirk on her face. "What? The kids are orphans, it's fine for them to curse-"_

"_No, it isn't, missy-"_

"_Don't call me that!" she yells at her. Miss. Destiny glares at her and pushes her down a few steps on the hallway stairs, causing Annie to trip slightly. She looks up and glares at her._

"_Get to work, missy," she says, exaggerating the last word. Annie rolls her eyes and goes down the steps and all the way to the basement where the washing machines were. Throwing the clothes on top of the washer, she shakes her head._

"_Fucking bitch," she mumbles under her breath, putting her hands to hold her head. She hears someone come down the stairs and looks up. It was one of the men who stayed here. He was a music teacher, and she had to admit that he was actually really good looking for a music teacher. She would be out of this place in a year, and maybe she would actually be able to do something with him._

_He looks up and sees she's there. "Annie?" he asks, coming over to her. "What are you doing down here?" She shrugs, looking at his green eyes._

"_Miss. Destiny is punishing me for saying the word crap. I don't see why. But now I have to wash everyone's clothes," she sighs, trying to make herself sound like a damsel in distress, and apparently, it was working._

"_Oh, don't do that. I'll do it, but don't tell the others," he states. She smiles at him._

"_Thanks, Mr. Suchopar," she says, hugging him from behind. 'More like Mr. Such-a-fox,' she thinks to herself, chuckling slightly._

"_It's fine, Annie. Just don't tell them, ok?" She nods and runs up the stairs. That man was the only thing she had left in this orphanage. And she was bound to keep it for the rest of her time in this hell hole._

* * *

Tree climbing has never been Annie's way of getting up high into the sky. She preferred to ride the elevators-and yes, she meant actually ride on top of the elevators-to get to the top of towering skyscrapers in NYC. But climbing trees, not her forte.

But she had to right now in order to escape the horde of walkers that had found Daryl and her while they were hunting. And right now, she was terrified.

They were so high up, and she was afraid of heights. Wait, didn't she go to the top of skyscrapers? Yes, she does, but that's enclosed. Right now, she was in the wide open space and she could fall at any moment into the millions of walkers below. She was scared for her life.

And Daryl saw this.

He didn't think this girl was scared of anything, but the way she was shaking right now actually made him feel really sorry for her. In fact, all he wanted to do was to take her in his arms and tell her that they wouldn't fall. They would be alright. But, being him, his quickly shook that thought from his head and turned to her.

"We can't just go down," he replies. "We have to jump," She looks at him wide eyed.

"JUMP?" she says fearfully, shaking her head. "No, I can't do that-"

"Annie, do ya want to die now?" he replies. She stares at him for a second before shaking her head. "Then we have to fucking jump!" She looks down at the walkers clawing their way, trying to get at the two people. She swallows hard. "Annie, we'll be fine," he says a bit more softer then she would have expected from him. She looks at him again and nods, biting her lip slightly.

"Ok," she says quietly. "You just lead the way before I faint," she adds on. He nods and takes one huhe leap from the branch he was on to the branch of the next tree. Her fear suddenly trickes back in her, but she shakes it away. She didn't have to be afraid. She would be fine.

She jumps.

And she lands safely.

* * *

Annie leans against the tree they had just climbed out of and takes a huge gulp of water. For what she could tell, she had tree hopped for at least five miles to get away from the horde. And they were only coming in their direction. She sees that he was looking out at the open road in front of them. They were in some sort of path.

"Where do we go now?" she asks, handing him the water bottle. He takes it gratefully and takers a sip, then closes the top. "Daryl, you can't give up hope on you're group. They're still out there." He glares at her.

"Ya don't know nothin', so stop acting like ya do," he says harshly. She narrows her eyes.

"Excuse me for trying to keep hope alive," she bites back. "I don't take kindly to people who say stuff to me like that. Hey, maybe that's why everyone in my life has abandoned me. My own god damn mother abandoned me!" she yells, marching up to me. "That orphanage was the shittiest place I have ever lived in. I had one friend. She was taken away. And that was it. I had no one. And that made me bitter. And that made people want to leave me alone I guess. That's why I've always been alone. That's why I'm still alive today. But I was just saved by you, and right now, you're the only person in my god damn life who hasn't left me yet. I'm just waiting for the day for you to do exactly that. But for now, you're stuck with me. And that includes all this shit about keeping hope alive and all that. My group's are gone. Dead. And I know deep down you're group is fine. And you will find them. And it'll be great when you do."

He stares at her for a moment, digesting what she just said.

"Look, I'm sorry for being me," she replies a bit more softly. "I just have a fucked up past and I needed to let that out. If you want to leave me, I'm fine with it. I'm sorry for saying stuff about your group that I don't know. I just don't like seeing people sad." He looks at her angry for a second.

"How many god damn times do I have to tell ya that I'm not leavin' ya, woman?" he replies. She looks up shocked yet surprised at the revelation of his words, and smiles.

"I'm glad about that," she says happily. Truthfully, she didn't want him to leave. He was everything that she would need in this sort of world. Strong, skillful, and not to mention handsome in his own way. She just really needed to find a pair of scissors for that hair. "But it's still your call on where to go," she adds on. He looks up the road and sighs.

"I think I see a truck up there we could try and hotwire. Get out on the road and maybe find someplace to stay for that night. Tomorrow we can try again," he replies quietly, looking at her. And for a moment he had to hold his breath at her sight. The sun was beginning to set, and it gave her face a bright glow and made her hair look like it was reflecting off of it. Her green eyes were so bright. And in that moment, he realized that in this world, out of every single person he had met, she was definitely the most beautiful out of all of them. She seemed so innocent but in reality she was hardened. And that just made him like her a bit more.

"Ok," she replies, starting to walk up the road. "I can do that." She stops for a second and turns back, smiling at him. "Thanks for not leaving me, Daryl. Really," she replies. He feels like he's trapped under her intense haze before he forces himself to look down at the ground and shrug his shoulders.

"It's nothin'," he mutters, walking up to her. "Let's get this car fixed."

* * *

**A/N: I see a lot of people have followed this story but seeing more reviews would be nice. Not trying to be mean or anything, they just really motivate me to keep writing and to make this story the best it can be. But anyhow, thanks for the new followers, reviews, and favorites! It really means a lot! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**

**It's the Hard Knocked Life-Annie (musical)**


	7. Scars

**You know the bed feels warmer  
Sleeping here alone  
You know I dream in color  
And do the things I want**

**You think you got the best of me  
Think you've had the last laugh  
Bet you think that everything good is gone**

**Think you left me broken down  
Think that I'd come running back  
Baby you don't know me, cause you're dead wrong**

**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone.**

* * *

Another bug flies onto Annie's shoulder in the late afternoon air on that warm day. And she swats it, just like she did to all the other bugs that had decided to try and make a home on her body. She had had it up to here with mosquitoes. Any other bug she could deal with, but those little blood sucking monsters she wanted to just destroy them all. And of course they had no god damn bug spray in this fucked up world.

Right now, the two of them were walking through the forest, just looking for something to eat for the night. It had been a week since the tree incident and Annie found herself becoming more brave with each day. She had no clue why. She had no clue how. But she knew that one of the reasons was that Daryl was around her twenty four seven.

And over the past week, she felt like she was slowly breaking down his walls and getting to know him more and more each day. And to be true, she actually liked being in his company. When he wasn't a grumpy grouch around her. When he was that, she sincerely wanted to slap him. She swore this man had more mood swings then a pregnant woman.

But that didn't make her like him any less. He was a survivor. He knew fully well how to live in this kind of world. Granted, she kind of did too. But he seemed to know more. And to be true as well, she wanted to learn exactly how he was prepared. But she wasn't going to go deep into his past without him being comfortable. She didn't want to be that person.

And know she was actually with him right now, apparently tracking a deer he had found, and the bugs were eating away at her skin.

She looks at Daryl, who was focused intensely on the deer tracks on the ground. She could track, but she wasn't that good of a tracker. And apparently he saw invisible deer tracks. Cool.

But she couldn't help but admire the way he looked. His hands grasped his crossbow with ease, something she could probably never do well, even if she did know how to do it, and with every reload of an arrow when he shot a walker, she would see his muscles flex, and she would try really hard not to fangirl and to act like a fucking woman. But she couldn't resist the fact that he had really, really toned arms. She was always into guys like that. But in this world, romance usually wasn't an option, and she wouldn't want to throw herself into that at this point in her life. She was twenty seven, living life to the fullest. Well, as much as she could in this world.

She chuckles quietly to herself and looks around, making sure to stay high alert for walkers around them. About to step out, she is stopped when an arm shoots out in front of her and stops her in her tracks. She lets out a resounding 'oof' and looks up to see Daryl looking at her with 'be quiet' look. She looks around and sees they had finally found the supposed deer that they had been tracking. Wow. He wasn't imagining.

She nods and sees him load his crossbow, making sure to look away to hide her blush from him so she wouldn't look like a fucking high schooler, and then watches as he expertly fires the arrow into the deer's head, killing it instantly. She smiles.

"You're a damn good shot," she says. "I could never get that if I tried." He shrugs his shoulders.

"Not that hard," he replies, walking over. She furrows her brow.

"Not that hard?" she repeats to him incredulously. "I can never hit that. I'm not skillful. To hit that deer in the head straight on is impressive." He rolls his eyes.

"Stop the praise and come over 'ere and help me, woman," he says, gesturing his hands to the deer on the ground. She places her hands on her hips, shakes her head, and then walks over.

"You just can't take a god damn compliment, can you?" she chuckles, leaning down next to him, taking out her knife. "Maybe one day you could teach me how to use that crossbow correctly." He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Correctly?" he asks. She shrugs her shoulders.

"Well, I learned how to use one just by reading a shit ton of books in my orphanages library, but I've never actually…used one, you know?" She shakes her head. "I sound crazy," she dismisses with her hand. "Just ignore what I say," she chuckles. "Let's just get this deer skinned so we can eat." He nods and continues to start to cut open the deer.

To be honest, she was never really good with blood. Never had been. Hell, she only dealt with horror movies, never really liked them. But it was something she had adapted to in this world. And seeing deer's blood wasn't as gross as some of the other kinds of blood she saw those days.

"So…" she starts, throwing the skin to the side. "How long have you been hunting?" she asks. He's silent for a moment before replying.

"Probably since I was little," he replies, easily removing the skin from the deer's body. She sees the insides and cringes slightly, but she seriously needed to grow up and smell the roses. This was the apocalypse. She needed to get used to these.

"I just learned during this. I'm a fast learner. Who taught you?" she asks. She sees him tense up for a second, and she knew she had hit something personal from his past.

"My old man," he mutters. Before she could ask another question he cuts her off. "Nasty son of a bitch," he adds on. That shuts her mouth for a moment, causing her to look down at the dead animal, trying to hide the pity on her face. She knew he didn't want that.

"Oh," she finally said, looking out into the forest. "Well, even if I grew up in an orphanage, life wasn't easy there. My caretaker, Miss. Destiny, was such a bitch. She would push me down stairs just because I said a swear. I still have some scars from when I hit the back of a banister after she pushed me down the stairs for saying the word 'damn.'" She chuckles. She looks at him and finds him staring intensely at her. And she curses herself for blushing under his gaze.

"Why are ya telling me this?" he asks, and actually notices that he was confused that she was telling her all of this. She looks down and shrugs her shoulders.

"I'm telling you because I want to let you know you're not alone," she says, looking back at him, keeping his gaze. "Everyone has that shitty moment in their past. Everyone has scars. Some may be on the inside…while others may be on the outside," she says, lifting up her shirt a little to show one of the many scars that were on her stomach from the endless beatings at the orphanage. He stares at it for a second before looking back at her. "I understand you need space. Everyone does. But I'm just putting this out there. You don't need to hide anything from me, because I get it. I know what it feels like to be neglected and to be hurt. To be disloved by someone who was supposed to love you. And I DEFINETLY know what it feels like to feel like no one cares and that there's no hope. But there is. There always is. Whether it's big or small. And if you're thinking I'm giving you pity, I'm not. It's empathy. There's a difference-"

"I know," he replies, still staring at her. She smiles at him and doesn't turn away. He did know she was telling him her story, and he really did like it, but just the way she was looking at him made him want to just fucking take her right there on the forest floor. That wasn't something he would normally do, but with her…it just felt like he would. That one fucking smile, that one god damn thing, made him feel stuff that he never even knew he was capable of feeling. She had a damaged past, just like him, and just didn't want to be alone. Wanted to have someone to give a shit about her.

Well, she certainly had someone now.

He clears his throat and looks down. He needed to get these thoughts out of his head before they got out of hand and actually happened. Making his hands busy, he starts to cut up the deer. "We better get this deer cut up," he murmurs quickly.

She looks at him confused for a second. What had that been? Well, it was certainly over now. She simply shrugs her shoulders and continues to help him.

* * *

The two now sat around a small campfire they had made when the sun had eventually gone down. And both were eating freshly cooked deer. Every once and a while they would talk, but sooner or later, it would fall into silence again. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it was nice. Like just two friends that could sit there and not say anything at all but still be saying a thousand things to each other. But righ now, she had a song stuck in her head.

And she needed to get it out.

She brings her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around her legs, giving herself a comfortable position that she could lean her head back against the tree. She starts to hum and then little notes come out one by one.

'_I'm sittin' in the railway station__  
__Got a ticket for my destination__  
__On a tour of one night stands__  
__My suitcase and guitar in hand__  
__And every stop is neatly planned__  
__For a poet and a one man band'__  
_

She feels her eyes close at the sound of her voice going easily through the song.

_Homeward bound__  
__I wish I was__  
__Homeward bound__  
__Home, where my thought's escaping__  
__Home, where my music's playing__  
__Home, where my love lies waiting__  
__Silently for me__'_

When she opens her eyes again, she finds Daryl starting at her for probably the third time that day. She smiles at him. "What? No theme music aloud?" she jokes. He keeps the gaze for a few seconds and then a small half smile appears on his face. He shakes his head.

"Didn't think ya would know that song," he comments. She mock gasps.

"Do not say that about me. I know almost every single song to man. I was a music major in college as well as dance. Nothing can get past me," she replies, crossing her arms. "Hey, why don't you wake me up for watch? I can easily do it," she says. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Ya look tired. I can stay up." She raises an eyebrow at him, but shakes her head, dismissing the idea. "Ya have a nice voice," he quietly says. She looks up and smiles even wider at him.

"Thanks, Daryl," she says sweetly. "But I think you need a bit more sleep. I'm not good." He snorts.

"Ya are," he replies. "Don't question it," he adds on when he's about to fight back. She rolls her eyes.

"Goodnight…huh, funny. I was going to call you by your last name but I don't know it. What is it?" she asks.

"Dixon," he says without thinking. She smiles small.

"Dixon," she repeats. 'Daryl Dixon…has a ring to it,' she thinks. "Ok. Goodnight, Dixon."

* * *

**Thanks for the amazing review I got from ****kaylaodinson. It made my day! Thanks for the new followers and favorites as well! Thanks for reading and feedback is always nice! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Song Lyrics: What Doesn'T Kill You (Makes You Stronger)-Kelly Clarkson**

**Homeward Bound-Simon and Garfunkel. (I first heard it on glee and fell in love with it!)**


	8. Men

**There goes the baker with his tray like always.****  
****The same old bread and rolls to sell.****  
****Every morning just the same since the morning that we came,****  
****To this poor provincial town.****  
****Good Morning Belle!****  
****G'morning Monsieur!****  
****Where you off to?****  
****The book shop...****  
****I just finished the most wonderful story,****  
****About a beanstalk and an ogre and an...****  
****That's nice. Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!****  
****Look there she goes that girl is strange no question.****  
****Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?****  
****Never part of any crowd.****  
****Cuz her heads up on some cloud.****  
****No denying she's a funny girl that Belle.**

* * *

_Annie sat on her bed, glaring at the small book she was reading. Or trying to read. Her mind was too occupied on the girl down stairs in a meeting with a set of parents. Of course Jill was getting taken away from her. Of course she would be adopted and Annie would be left alone to rot._

_She hears the door of the room open and she glances up and sees Jill walking in, looking at the ground. Annie looks back at her book and makes sure not to let any tears fall. "So?" she asks. "What's up with them?"_

"_They want to take me," she says quietly. Annie nods, coming down the ladder and putting her book down, walking over to her._

"_Well, then we better make the best out of the time we have left. How much? A month? Week?" _

"_Five minutes," she mumbles. Annie looks at her stupidly._

"_What?" she asks softly after a minute of pure shock. "WHAT?" she repeats, backing up. "You…you cant leave me alone like this…you cant-"_

"_I tried to reason, Annie. But they wanted me to come home with them today. I feel terrible, but this might be my one and only chance. Annie, you have to understand," she places her hand on her arm, but Annie rips her arm out of her grasp, glaring out the window._

"_Just get what you need and go," she says coldly. Jill still attempts to talk to her._

"_Annie-"_

"_Just go!" she replies, running out of the bedroom, leaving her old friend behind. She runs all the way outside and to the emergency exit that led to the roof. When she gets to the top, she falls down on her knees and cries. Jill would be gone from her life. She would be alone again. No one to lean on. No one to talk to. _

_She would be alone._

* * *

Annie didn't like going through others people stuff. Hell, she never like doing it. She never liked to get into other peoples business. And she sincerely felt like she was going through other people's business at the moment trying to find food to eat for her and Daryl. It felt like she was slowly falling out of control and she was resorting to this.

She didn't like it.

But she had to do it in order to survive this world. Not to mention it had now been a month she had been with the redneck, and he was teaching her stuff that she never even thought were possible.

They had been on the track and off the track. They had found signs, but sometimes they would diverge off to go find someplace to stay or to relax for a little while. But at the moment, they were just finding something to eat. At first, when this would happen, she thought he had completely given up looking for his group, but when she looked at him, she could see that small bit of hope she had installed in him. And it made her smile knowing she was the reason that he had that.

They had also been alone with each other. The only sort of people they had come across was the dead kind. But neither minded. In fact, they knew that they were better alone because by now they k new each other. They knew their movements, how they talked, how they negotiated. They were so used to each other by now that it was sort of sickening.

But she didn't mind.

The two had gotten rather close in the past month. It had been two weeks since their talk near the deer, and the two seemed to grow fond of each other. And even though he tried to hide it, she could tell that he cared about her. And it made her happy to no end.

At night, sometimes though, when he was far asleep, and she would be able to stay quiet enough, she would just stay up and listen to outside. It was so pretty to listen to, and sometimes it felt like she was in one of those YouTube videos that you watched before you went on vacation somewhere. It felt nice. And it was a way to get away from the hell that was all around her.

But right now, she couldn't worry about that. She needed to get the food and get back to Daryl, who was in another house looking for food. She grabs a few half empty jars of peanut butter for her. Peanut butter had been her favorite snack when she was younger. She would always sneak it into the dorm room when no one was looking.

She grabs two boxes of crackers, and one opened box of cereal that she knew would probably be stale by now. But hey, it was food. She had been eating so much meat from the game they had gotten lately. Her and Daryl made up some pretty good hunters. She still wished sometimes it wasn't just them hunting, but half the time she preferred it to anyone else hunting with her.

He was fun to hunt with, if you could believe it. Well, once you got to know him like Annie did. If you didn't know him, he wouldn't talk at all. But after you did, he was talk, joke sometimes, even smile on the rare occasion at her for some of the good catches she would make. He was a tough cookie to crack, but she felt like she had made at least a couple of dents in that cookie by now. She just had to work on getting the exterior broken.

When she places all the food in her bag, she sighs and looks at the empty shelves. She prayed to God that no one was staying there and she didn't just ruin their lives.

Zipping up her bag, she turns around, only to see that Daryl was now in the house, and he been watching her get all the food. She lets out a scream and backs up into the counter, then slips on something on the ground and falls to the ground, bumping her head. "Damn it, Daryl!" she yells at him.

She could see he was laughing at her amusing performance of falling on her ass, but he comes over and offers her a hand to help her up. She glares at him for a second before rolling her eyes and gladly taking the hand. He pulls her up with ease and when she's on her feet she dusts off her pants.

"Ass," she says to him. "You could have at least SAID something instead of watching me like a god damn hawk!" she replies, still glaring at him. But he still had that stupid smirk on his face.

"Sorry, kid," he replies, knowing she hated that nickname. She sends him the biggest death glare she could muster at him.

"Just because I am younger then you does not mean I am a kid. Do not call me that!" she grinds out, shaking her head and turning back to the cabinets. He rolls his eyes at the woman's reaction. She was crazy when it came to the nickname.

"Whatever. I got somethin' to show ya," he says. She turns to him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"And what would that be?" she asks, and he could sense the bit of amusement in her voice.

"Just gotta trust me," he replies, nodding his head towards the front door. She raises an eyebrow but follows him anyway, not knowing exactly where he was taking her.

She sees that most of the walkers they had come across were long gone and dead again. Some of them she had taken out, but in a few she could see some arrows sticking out from where Daryl had put them. They were in a small town, very small actually, and she had no clue where the hell he was leading her. Granted, she didn't know the buildings, but she still was sort of scared to know.

When he opens the door to a building for her, she grows even more suspicious. "Ok, what the hell are you doing?" she asks. He simply chuckles and follows down the narrow hallway they had stepped into. She was still confused as to why she was there. He really didn't answer questions.

When he opens up another door, she looks inside, and nearly drops to her knees.

It was a huge library.

High ceilings with books lined on shelves that seemed to reach up to the sky. She could spend her whole life in this giant place. She needed to grab as many books as possible. She needed to look at all the genres and adventures they had and-

She turns around and throws her arms around Daryl in a tight hug. She had told him the day before that she wanted a book to read at night when she was awake. She didn't think he listened to that. She feel shim stiffen at her touch at first, but relaxes slightly a moment later. "Thank you," she whispers against his neck.

He was trying so hard not to act on his body and respond with movements he didn't want to do. He tried to ration with his mind and it seemed to be working, but he needed to step away before she could notice anything.

"You're welcome," he replies, stepping away. But she didn't notice. She simply looks back into the giant library, let's out an excite squeal, and runs into to grab any books she could get her hands on.

* * *

She went on and on and on. All about the books she had gotten from the library later that day when they were walking along a path to find somewhere safe to stay for the night. He had kept count of how many books she had talked about. Around seven now. But to be honest, he didn't mind. He could listen to her talk about daring swordfights and magic spells for hours as long as that bright smile stayed on her face. He had never seen her smile so big as she did when she got all the books.

She truly was a geek.

'My geek,' he thinks, smiling to himself. Then realizes what he just thought. 'My geek? When is she mine?' he thinks, furrowing his brow, angry at himself for thinking that. 'She's not mine and never will be. She ain't a piece of property,' he continues.

'Doesn't mean you still don't want her,' his body counters. He growls at himself quietly and shakes his head.

'Don't matter. She ain't mine,' he keeps saying to himself. Annie continues to go on and on about her latest find.

"And then he goes off to go find the asshole who took all his money, and that's when shit really starts to-hey, are you ok?" she says, noticing he looked angry at something. He looks up suddenly and sees she was looking at him with a confused and concerned look on her face. He shakes his head.

"'S nothin'," he mutters, looking out into the woods. "Nothin' to worry about," he adds on. She gives him a suspicious look for a second before nodding.

"Ok," she replies carefully, looking back out in front of her. "If you need-"And then she's met with a gunshot whizzing past her head.

She yelps and drops to the ground. Daryl immediately comes to her side. "Are ya ok?" he asks quickly. She nods, still trying to swallow her heart that had jumped up into her throat. Daryl gets up and points his crossbow where the shot had come from. "Who the fuck are ya?" he hisses.

"I'm sorry!" someone screams. "My son's triggerhappy!" he replies. A man steps out of the bush, along with a younger boy, who looked to be about Annie's age. "I'm Walt, and this is triggerfinger here, Cory," he says, indicating to the younger boy. Daryl kept his crossbow in position.

"Why the hell was he shootin' at 'er?" he asks harshly, not faltering in his aim for a second. If this asshole had been an inch closer, Annie would have been a goner.

"I'm sorry, I thought she was a lurker!" the younger boy says profusely. "I didn't mean to shoot her!" Annie doesn't buy it, and neither does Daryl. Annie knew they had had to have heard her talking to Daryl. Walkers didn't talk. They only groaned. There was another reason why.

"Look, we're quite sorry for doing that. How about in sorrow we give you some dinner and a place to sleep for the night? We have a nice big house around the corner with out group-"

"I think we'll be just fine," Daryl spits back. Annie shakes her head. She didn't trust these guys either, but they did somewhere to stay. The sun was starting to go down and they needed to find shelter.

"Let me talk to him," Annie says, getting up from the ground and pulling Daryl back a bit. He keeps his gaze on the two men for a few more seconds before turning to her.

"What the hell is there to talk about, woman?" he whispers fiercely to her. She puts a hand on his shoulder to calm his slightly.

"Daryl, I don't trust them just as much as you don't, but at this moment we have a chance of shelter for the night and a warm meal. We'll leave straight in the morning. But right now let's just keep our guard up and have a nice hot dinner." Daryl stares at her for a second before shaking his head.

"This is crazy," he mumbles. She chuckles at him. Then, not thinking, she leans up and pecks his cheek slightly, causing his head to snap to hers. Her cheeks redden a bit but she still keeps her calm composure. "What was that for?" he asks shocked. She shrugs her shoulders.

"For not totally disagreeing with me. You actually went along. You deserve that," she replies, turning back to where the men were and walking towards them. Daryl shakes his head at the woman again. She was going to be the death of him. And if she did that kiss to him, he didn't know how much longer he could control his body. But right now, he needed to get her safely out of there as soon as morning came.

"So?" Walt asks. Annie steps up.

"We'll go. But only for the night. And if you try anything, I'll shove one of his arrows so far up your ass you'll taste it in your mouth." Walt simply smiles at her.

"Charming one, you go there, huh man?" he asks, looking at Daryl, but Daryl simply glares at him. "Well, then let's get going. It's about fifteen minutes away. We'll be there in no time. And hopefully we can keep triggerhappy here without going senile." Cory looks down ashamed.

"I didn't mean to," he grumbles, going off. Walt follows him and Annie stays in the back with Daryl.

"Ya stay by my side at all time, ya got that?" he says lowly to her as they started to walk slowly behind them. She snorts quietly.

"I wouldn't dream of stepping away."

* * *

**Feedback is always great! Thanks for reading and reviewing and favoriting and following! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Song Lyrics: Bonjour-Beauty and the Beast (movie)**


	9. Farmhouse

**A/N: Thanks for all the new followers and favorites guys! They make me so happy! And reviews would make me even more motivated to write more of the story! I mean, I actually like this story too much to stop writing it, but I'm just saying just a little feedback is always nice. I'm still very thankful for the amount of people following this.**

**And yeah, I changed the title. The reason behind that is because I think the title was a little too…little kiddish. I didn't want to give the wrong idea to people about the main character XD So I changed it to Fighter, because I truly think Annie is a fighter and is still fighting in this world. So that's why I changed it. **

**Ok, so now that that's done with, let's move on with the story!**

* * *

**My god, amazing how we got this far****  
****It's like we're chasing all those stars****  
****Who's driving shiny big black cars****  
****And everyday I see the news****  
****All the problems that we could solve****  
****And when a situation rises****  
****Just write it into an album****  
****Singing straight, too cold****  
****I don't really like my flow, no, so****  
****Tell me what you want to hear****  
****Something that were like those years****  
****Sick of all the insincere****  
****So I'm gonna give all my secrets away****  
****This time, don't need another perfect line****  
****Don't care if critics never jump in line****  
****I'm gonna give all my secrets away**

**(WDWDWDWDWDWDWDW)**

T here was something about them that Annie just didn't like. Maybe it was the fact that they almost got her killed, but she did not like them. There was something more to their story. There was something hey were hiding. And she intended to find out. If they were staying there for the night, she needed to know what the hell went down.

The two were bickering in front of her, walking along about something. Annie could only guess that Cory was Walt's son. He looked like the younger version of the older man. And he looked to be about her age, but she wouldn't be laying her hands on him anytime soon. He wasn't even remotely good looking. He had red hair that stuck out in all places and light green eyes, and he was scrawny. Nothing appealing. She never even liked gingers anyway. And at the moment, she had her eyes focused on the crossbow man next to her, even though deep down she knows it will probably never happen.

For a moment the two men stop talking and Cory glances behind to look at Annie, but she simply sends him the most piercing glare she could think of and he turned right around in a second. She huffs angrily and looks down at the ground, shaking her head. "I really don't trust these guys," she whispers lowly to Daryl. He snorts quietly at this.

"Ya are the one who said we should go with 'em," he states back at her. She rolls her eyes.

"For food! But there's something wrong about them. Something not…right." She shivers a bit. "I can feel it in my bones that something's clicking well in their heads." He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Feel it in yer bones?" he mimics. She rolls her eyes.

"You know what I mean, ass," she whispers fiercely. "We've been walking for more then fifteen minutes. Something's up and-"

"So, where did you two come from?" Walt asks suddenly, stopping Annie in her train of words. She looks at him suddenly and he's looking at the both of them. "Have you been together since the beginning of this?" he adds on. Annie looks at Daryl for a bit of help.

"Found 'er almost gettin' eaten by some of the walkers. Saved her about a year ago. Been together ever since," he replies. She tries not to look surprised, but on the inside she was praising his acting and lying skills at the moment. 'Ok, we're making up a lot. Might as well have fun with it,' she thinks playfully.

"Oh really?" Walt says, stretching his neck to look back at them more. Annie feels the intense gaze of him and feels sweat start to drip down her neck. That always happened when she was nervous. But she couldn't let him see this. She decided to play with the game.

"And it's been a fun year at that. Plenty of surviving," she states, making direct eye contact with Walt so she wouldn't look afraid. His smiles unnerves her.

"Are you two…together? Or anything like that? Because there's this-"

"She's my girl," Daryl says suddenly, and Annie's head snaps to look at him. Trying not to show surprise at all, but her eyes were probably freaking out right now. 'What?' she thinks, rapidly. 'Did he actually just say…?'

"Really?!" Walt says intrigued a bit. "She's your girlfriend?" Daryl nods at this, and then Walt looks to Annie for confirmation, to which she smiles wide and nods as well. She would definitely talk to him later on about this. Walt laughs, looking back on the road in front of him. "She seems a bit young for you, buddy. How old are ya, honey? Eighteen?" Annie could see Daryl was about to burst, so before he could kill anyone at the moment, she steps up.

"I'm twenty seven, thank you. And age doesn't matter. You find love where you can get it nowadays, and I found it in him. So I would appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut about us, thank you," she states angrily, staring hard at Walt's back.

Daryl looks at the woman in wonder. He didn't think she would actually go along with it, let along defend it like that. Is that what it would be like to actually be with her? Would she literally defend it like she just did? That was one of the reasons he would never think of touching her like that. He was nearly a over a decade older then her. She was twenty seven, he was thirty six. But the way she said that with so much…anger and passion…

Daryl clears his throat, trying hard to think of anything but Annie. He could not get a hard on right now. There was no way in hell that was going to happen. Not in front of these fuckers. No matter how sexy Annie looked right now with her hard stare. "How much land ya got?" Daryl asks to break the intense silence.

"Huge plot. Tons of fields and such. Got a nice barn filled with animals that are still alive and well. Use some of their milk to keep us going." Annie nods. 'Sounds nice,' she thinks.

"How many people do you have?" she asks. Cory looks back and smiles, and Annie tries her best not to gag at his crooked grin.

"Well, there's me and pa. Then mama and Candy. And Mark and Joel. So that's six people, ready to help." Annie nods and looks at the ground. Ok, so there was people, but she still didn't trust them.

"We're here," Walt says happily, gesturing to the house that was now coming into view. They did not lie, the house did have plenty of land behind it, spraying for miles and miles. And she saw that there was a giant fence that went around it. And she also saw the giant red barn, it's door slightly open. And she also saw Daryl cast a small glance towards the barn. She nudges him in his side, causing him to look at her.

"What's up? Expecting walkers to be in the barn or something?" she jokes. He doesn't reply but looks forward. She raises an eyebrow. "Were you really expecting that?" she whispers lowly. "Did you have a run in with people like that? Were they crazy?"

Before he could answer, they found themselves at the front steps of the house. They had been talking so much that they hadn't even noticed they went up the lawn. "Patty!" Walt says at the same time Cory says, "Mama!"

A woman that looked to be in her early forties steps out with graying blonde hair and a kind smile, and Annie starts to think maybe she was just being a bit crazy before. She smiles at the two.

"Oh, new people. You look like you could use a nice bath, sweetie. We have a bathroom upstairs if you want. Oh, Walter where did you find them?" she asks. Walt walks over and places a kiss on her cheek, then looks at the two of them.

"Triggerfinger here almost blew her head off by accident, so we decided to pay them in a nice meal and warm beds for today." The two exchange a glance that neither Annie nor Daryl could read, and that kind of made Annie a bit scared. She could usually read people like a book, but not with this.

"Oh, Cory," she says, looking at her now retreating son going into the house. "He's crazy, I tell you. I'm so sorry that he tried to shot you. He hasn't been doing well with the guns lately. We'll make sure to reprimand him when the time comes. But for now, you need a place to shower and get clean, here I'll lead her to her room-"

"The two are together," Walt says. Patty looks at the two in surprise.

"Oh," she says, and this time Annie could sense a bit of disappointment in her voice. 'What is this lady playing at?' she thinks to herself. "Well, then we'll just have to get you both to a room, won't we? Follow me," she says, going up the stairs. Daryl and Annie exchange a glance and look at Walt, who simply gestures his hand to go in. Annie takes a deep breath. Well, no going back now.

They follow her up the stairs and to the right where she opens a door. Annie walks in first. There was a single queen sized bed, a dresser, a desk, and another door to the left. "That's a bathroom you can sue to wash up sweetie," she states. Annie walks over and opens it. Sure enough, there was a nice shower in there where she could wash.

"Thank you for just…accepting us like this," Annie states, looking around in the room. Daryl was looking in the bathroom as she had just been. Patty waves her hand dismissively.

"Please, it's the least we could do after what Cory did. Nothing wrong with a but of hospitality. Dinner will be a few hours, so please, take your time and freshen up." She smiles one last time and goes out the door, closing it behind her. When Daryl hears her feet go down the stairs, he shakes his head.

"I don't trust 'em," he says. She chuckles.

"I'm your girl?" she states at him. "And when did that happen, Mr. Dixon?" she chuckles. He glares at her and she raises her hands. "Just asking!"

"If I didn't tell them ya were that little piece of shit Cory would probably have his hands all over ya right now," he states. She snorts.

"Cory? Please. He's a ginger. I hate red hair. And I would never touch him. He's gross," she says while making a face. "I didn't know you cared about me, Dixon. Don't want another man to touch me, huh?" He simply continues his glare. She chuckles. "I'm just kidding, cowboy. Calm down."

She walks over to the dresser and takes off her shirt, and she hears a sharp intake of breath behind her. She didn't know if it was because she was taking off her shirt or because of the few scars on her back from the orphanage, but she simply rolls her eyes and turns around. "Have you never seen a girl shirtless, Dixon?" she states teasingly, putting her hands on her hips.

Whether he liked to admit it or not, his eyes practically devoured her body. All the way from her breast pressed together in her tight bra to her slender waist and then to her back. And he could see the few scars on her. And also got sight of a pinch of ink leading down in between her shorts. He takes swallows a bit, trying to get the idea of her body on his, having her under him, kissing her all over, but he realizes it was pointless. He needed to get out of the room.

"Ya take a shower. I'm gonna go look around," he grumbles before walking out the bedroom door quickly and closing the door rather hard behind him. She jumps at the sound for a second before shaking her head and removing the rest of her clothes.

"Crazy man," she mumbles under her breath.

* * *

**A/N: Reviews would be great! And thanks for all the new followers and favorites! It's awesome!**

**Song Lyrics: Secrets-OneRepublic**


	10. Don't Eat Dinner

**I'm a survivor****  
****I'm not gon' give up****  
****I'm not gon' stop****  
****I'm gon' work harder****  
****I'm a survivor****  
****I'm gonna make it****  
****I will survive****  
****Keep on survivin'**

* * *

The water felt amazing going down her back as Annie scrubbed away the dirt and grime that littered her face and body. She hadn't had a warm shower in months. In years. She never realized she missed it so much. She just wanted to stay in the shower for the rest of her life and just cherish the warm water.

But she couldn't do that.

She was only staying for the night and then they were high tailing it out of there. But looking at the woman and the place they were staying at, they didn't seem harmless at all. Walt and Cory were just suspicious. Maybe they could somehow stay here and they could-

She shakes her head. What the fuck was she thinking? She only trusted one person and that was Daryl, and they were going to leave in the morning and get back on track to looking for his group or finding somewhere safe to stay.

She suddenly realizes Daryl never really did talk about his group. She always thought that maybe he just didn't like them, but after all this time, she knew that they had meant something to him and that he missed them a lot. And she felt bad for thinking that. And she wouldn't push him to do anything that she thinks he would be uncomfortable with. She yet again wasn't that kind of girl.

She finally gets all the soap out of her hair and turns off the water, the few water droplets falling onto her skin. She grabs a towel and rubs her hair until it's damp so she could get a brush through it and walks out of the shower, making sure the door was locked behind her so no one would come in and sneak a peak.

She looks at herself in the mirror and frowns. She was so skinny. Skinnier then she had been when all of this started. But she did realize that she had gained a small portion of weight ever since Daryl popped up. They were always catching deer together. She was expecting that. But she still didn't like the way her body looked. No one ever seemed too. That was one of the reasons why she never had any friends. She didn't have the perfect body.

She looks on the scars on her back and sighs. All the years of endless torture and pain she would receive from doing bad things at the orphanage. The only years when nothing would happen to her was when Jill was there. And when she left life only got worse. Jill was that small light in the darkness for her. Her little spark of hope that one day they could be adopted and given proper homes. But that since died out ever since she was younger. She traces one of the scars on her back that reached from the very end of her neck to the end of her spine. That had been for pranking one of the headmasters of the orphanage. And it had left a scar on her. A nice big one to remind her that life sucks and it would always suck.

She shakes her head, getting these negative thoughts out of her head, and starts to brush her hair like she didn't have a worry in the world. She started to hum 'Survivor' under her breath as she got through every single little tangle, then ended up putting it into a bun with a few loose hairs hanging. Glancing out the window, she could see that the sun was starting to go down.

She makes sure to keep her towel around her body just in case Daryl was in the room, but lucky when she stepped out he was nowhere to be seen. But the one thing that caught her attention was set of new clothes on the bed.

She walks over and examines them. Nice pair of dark blue jeans, black tank top, and grey cover-up. As well as some boots. Some good old combat boots. She had been needing new ones.

She slips off the towel and puts on the clothes, all while thinking to herself. These people seemed nice, but they seemed too nice. She felt like they were just being nice to pull them in and then they would stab them in the back later. Literally. But for now, she was just enjoying the smell of clean clothes and slightly wet hair.

* * *

Daryl looked around the perimeter of the area and bites his lip slightly. This place looked too much like the farm his group had stayed at. It reminded him way too much of Hershel. Jesus, he was still so pissed off at himself. He could have done something to prevent all of this. To prevent them from getting separated. And now it was all his fault that all of his group, his god damn _family, _was spread out in different directions. And now he was stuck with some stranger, still on the trail, looking for any of them that might be alive.

Well, she wasn't a stranger. Annie…was something else. She was spunky, had that fire in her eyes that told people she meant business and that you needed to do what she said or else. She wasn't afraid to tell people what she was thinking or what she thought of doing. But on the other hand she could be shy and preserved, and only keep things to herself, and just listen to all the wildlife around her and not give a damn at all if a walker was to suddenly jump out of nowhere and bite her.

And then that body…Daryl had come across many woman in his life, and many in this apocalypse, but Annie was something different. Daryl had to admit, she was skinny, skinner then she should be, and she needed to eat more meat, but she still had the body of fucking goddess. And just thinking about it made his pants a bit tighter.

But it wasn't just that. It wasn't just her being badass or her being sexy. She was just…her. She smiled and joked around. She sang and played piano. She didn't stand for his shit but went along with it half the time. She gave him empathy instead of pity. He hated when people gave him pity. He didn't deserve it. She talked about books for hours upon hours for God's sake. She was just her in her own way.

And he hated that he liked it so much. When he found her, he barely gave her a second glance. She was just some other fucking damsel in distress that he had to save. Actually he didn't. But he couldn't stand to see people treat others like that. So he saved her. And he was just going to plan on leaving her there and then, but then she walked up to him, talked to him, challenged him into saying she could prove she was worth something to him. That she would help him find his group and prove something. And took his breath away in the process of doing so. And he couldn't stand that right now she was only thing on the earth that meant something to him right now. No one else was around but her, and if he lost her, after a month of being stuck with her, he didn't know what he would do.

God, he sounded like such a sap.

"Deep thought there, brother?" he hears behind him. Daryl turns his head and sees that it was one of the men he hadn't been introduced to yet. He grunts and looks back out into the forest where they had come from, thinking of where exactly they had to go next.

"Ain't my brother," he says. The man chuckles.

"Sorry, I use that on a lot of people. Name's Joel. I'm guessin' you're Daryl?" he says. Daryl simply gives a curt nod. Joel nods as well. "Man of few words I see. Eh, doesn't matter. How you liking the place? Been here since the beginning." Daryl realizes this guy was trying to hold a conversation. He groans inwardly and decides to act like himself again.

"It's nice."

Joel nods. "These people been keeping us fed since the beginning. Nice and roomy. Plenty of space to live around here and make a life. I don't see why you want to go out and take your girl back out into the dangerous world." Daryl frowns.

"We do better by ourselves."

Joel chuckles again. "Ok, man. Whatever you say. Anyway, I'm just coming over to say that Walt wants to talk to you for a second. He's over by the barn. I gotta go check on Mark and see how he's doing," he states, starting to walk away. Daryl looks up last second.

"Who's Mark?" he asks. Joel shrugs.

"My brother. Got hurt in a hunting accident. Being treated upstairs. Go talk to Walt." And the man leaves. Daryl grumbles and glares at the ground. He would talk to Walt whenever her fucking wanted. It's not like he wanted to. Fucking asshole and Cory were looking at her like a piece of meat earlier, and the older is god damn married.

They needed to get off this farm. The sooner the better.

* * *

Annie looks through her bag and pulls out one of the books she had grabbed earlier and sits down on one of the couches in her new clothes. They were quite comfy. And the book was something she hadn't read in a while. The Hunger Games.

Book had come out the same year WALL-E did. That was a good year for her.

She loved reading about Katniss and all her adventures in the hunger games, but she never wished this would happen. Some people would wish to step into Narnia, or Hogwarts, or even the god damn Hobbit place, but no, she was happy in her little apocalypse world with her zombies instead of fighting to the death with a bunch of people her age.

"Watcha reading there?" she hears. She jumps up and places a hand on her heart, looking for the asshole that scared the shit out of her. And then see Cory looking at her with a small grin. She was half expecting Daryl to sneak up on her, but seeing Cory just pissed her off. She sends a glare at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Didn't your mama ever teach you not to sneak up on people?" she yells at him. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Didn't think it would scare you that much," he replies. She rolls her eyes and gets up from her seat.

"Well, it did." She starts to walk away but she realizes he was following her. And was doing a damn good job of it too.

"So, you and that redneck are a thing, huh?" he asks. She feels her blood boil when he calls him that, but she simply simmers down a bit so she could form a coherent sentence.

"Yes, we are," she replies simply, going down the hallway to the bathroom. But he was still following her.

"To be honest, I think someone that looks like you deserves someone a bit better then that hick," he says, grabbing her arm. Ok, that was it. She spins around, anger in her eyes.

"And who would that be?" she spits. "You? Ha! You're not even a quarter of the man that Daryl is. And I'm not surprised you don't see him like I do. Most people don't. But I love him, and there's nothing you and your scrawny little body can do about it. So fuck off!" she yells, slamming the bathroom door in his face.

She backs up into the toilet and collapses on top of it, her legs giving out beneath her. She places her head in her hands and sighs. Ok, this dude was getting on her nerves. She got that. She just needed to stay away from him. She took the book out from under her arms and began to read. This was her only way of escaping for the day.

* * *

Daryl walks over to the barn later on and sees that Walt was standing where Joel had told him, but he did see that the barn door was slightly open, and he could see a light in the back. Curiosity getting the better of him, he takes a step forward and glances into the barn. He sees a few cows and two horses, but his eyes were focused on the small door in the back that seemed to lead to another room within the barn. He walks all the way to the back and reaches out his hand to open the door and pulls it back. And his eyes widen at what he saw.

It was a room covered in blood from head to toe. There were all sorts of weapons and devices that were used to cut stuff up, and he could have sworn from the corner of his eyes that he saw a human hand on the blood table, but it could have just been something else. But either or, this place was screwed up. All of it.

"The dinner bell rang," he hears behind him. He turns around and sees Walt looking at him with no expression. "Time to eat."

"What the hell is this?" Daryl snarls.

"This is where we skin the animals we bring back from the house. Patty doesn't want all the blood and guts in the house where she makes the dinner. So we dress 'em out here." Daryl stares at the man for a second before stomping pas him. Conversation forgotten. He was not in the mood to talk to this fucker.

* * *

Annie looks around the dinner table at all the food. There was meat, and rolls, and mashed potatoes and corn… all of the things she had been yearning for since all of this began. She was waiting to dig in and eat the food and then get a good night's sleep. But she would wait for the rest of the people to come, especially Daryl. And he walks in a minute later, slamming the door behind him.

She jumps at this but smiles at him none the less. She was happy to see him. Daryl looks and puts aside his rage for a second to walk over to Annie and sit next to her, sighing as he did. She notices and leans closer.

"Are you ok?" she asks. He nods slowly, taking a sip of the water on the table.

"Yeah, just agitated I guess," he replies. She looks at him for a moment before nodding slowly and looking back at her plate.

"Oh, here we are!" Patty says, bringing in the rest of the meal. "This is a delight! It's time to dig in!" Daryl suddenly clears his throat.

"Ya mind if I use the bathroom for a bit?" he asks. Annie looks at him strangely but Patty simply waves her hands.

"Of course. It's right around the corner, darlin'" she says, gesturing the food. Daryl gets up from his seat and goes to where the bathroom was, but decides to head upstairs instead. He needed to explore this place more before he could eat.

He looks in one of the bedrooms and sees a light coming out from beneath a bookcase, and his brow furrows. He walks over slowly, as to not attract any attention from downstairs that could lead to him getting caught, and moves the bookcase. When it's moved, he sees there's a door the leads into something.

He opens the door and almost backs out the window at what he saw. There was a man on the ground with his god damn legs cut off, and he was close to death.

"What the fuck?" Daryl whispers fiercely. The man looks up and groans. "Who are ya?" Daryl asks, looking down at the man.

"M…Ma…Mark…" he replies, spitting out his blood. Daryl's eyes widened. This was Joel's brother. The one who had gotten injured. And he was down there simply just eating away at his brother? Were they really…"Don't…eat….dinner." Yup that settled it.

"This looks so good," he hears Annie say. He suddenly burst out of the room, running to get downstairs before Annie could put that meat in her mouth. And just when he saw the fork touch her lip, he stops her.

"DON'T EAT THAT!" Daryl yells at her. She immediately drops her fork and stares at him wide eyed.

"What's wrong, Daryl?" she asks, but the others interrupt her.

"What the hell is his problem," Cory mumbles to Joel. Daryl glares at him.

"My problem? I'll tell ya my problem. Mark is up there with his fucking legs CUT OFF. YA WERE ABOUT TO EAT HIM." Annie looks at her plate horrified.

"Patty is it true?" she asks the woman. The woman looks down at the table, glaring at it.

"Everything would have been just fine if you didn't go snooping around. Now we have to take care of ya'll," she says, looking at them.

"We're getting the fuck out of here right now," Daryl snarls at them. Annie stands up, but is immediately grabbed in a chokehold and pulled against Walt. "DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH HER!" Daryl yells, aiming his crossbow at Walt's head. But Walt presses a knife into her neck, a warning sign.

"Ah, ah, another step and she bites the dust," he says. Daryl glares at him, seething with rage. They were going to kill them if he didn't fire. He looks at Annie's eyes for second, and they were filled with fear, but he somehow gave her a message that they would get out of this. He sees the small bit of hope in her eyes, the same way she had given him a month ago. And before he could place his crossbow down so Annie wouldn't get hurt, he gets his upside the head.

And he blacks out.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for leaving on a cliffhanger, but I don't regret it. :P Feedback is always really nice when it comes to stories! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!**

**Song Lyrics: Survivor-Destiny's Child**


	11. Safe

**A/N: Wow! I'm so happy with the feedback from the last two chapters! Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews and all the positivity! It really helps me keep writing the story and not stops thinking no one likes it. I'm quite thankful for all of them! And of course the new followers and favorites as well! It's amazing I came home and found 39 messages in my email and like half of them were fanfiction XD It's great! So let's get on with this story!**

* * *

**I remember tears streaming down your face  
When I said, I'll never let you go  
When all those shadows almost killed your light  
I remember you said, Don't leave me here alone  
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight**

**Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light  
You and I'll be safe and sound**

* * *

Annie stares in horror as Daryl crumples to the ground and passes out from the hit to the side of his head. Cory and Joel hoist him up, while Annie tries to break free of Walt's grip, but he was too strong. She cries out, "Don't hurt him!" again and again.

"Shut up, you little bitch," Patty says, walking up to her connecting her hand with Annie's cheek. Annie looks to the right at the impact, trying hard not to show any fear or tears at this woman. "You make one more sound and we'll throw you into a horde of lurkers, got it? Or we'll kill pretty boy within a second." Annie looks back up and makes eye contact with Patty, nodding slowly. Her face was starting to hurt. "Good. Walt, bring her up and lock her away. Don't need our little secret getting out to the world, now do we?"

Walt smiles and practically drags her up the stairs, all while Annie stares at Daryl's head, which was now forming a little bit of a bump. God, what if he was dead-wait, dead people didn't form bumps. He was ok, At least for now. But she couldn't just let these people keep them locked up. She needed to find a way out.

But before she knew it, she was thrown into another room, this one very small and very not airy, with Walt staring down at her with a sadistic smile.

"Now, you stay here and be a good girl, ok?" he snarls. "Or else you're little redneck gets it," he replies, slamming the door behind him. She hears it lock from the outside and looks at the door in horror. She needed to get out of there. She jumps up from her spot on the ground and bangs on the door.

"LET ME GO! I WON'T TELL ANYONE, I SWEAR!" she cries, banging as hard as she could. And she gets a bang back.

"Would you just shut the fuck up in there, you cunt?" she hears to her right. She recognizes the voice. It was Cory. It all clicks suddenly. They had meant to kill her. Probably Daryl too. Walt was probably taking the kid out on his first hunting trip and they were going to kill them and gobble all their insides up for dinner. That's why she was almost killed. He had wanted to eat her.

They were all cannibals.

She steps away from the door and looks around the small room. There was a small cot, a desk, a small dresser, a very dim light, and a window. A very small window that even her thin body would not be able to get through.

She sighs and looks down at her hands that were now just laying on her thighs, hanging there. She needed to think of a plan. And fast. The life of Daryl could be in her hands at the moment and she really preferred to keep him alive right now.

She groans quietly and sits down on the bed, hearing the bed creak slightly under her weight added onto it. She thinks for a second. What could she do to trick these people into letting her out. Or killing them. She was ok with that. Hell, she really wanted to kill Patty and Walt right now.

Looking around she thinks to the man outside. And she realizes what she had to do. The only way to get him in here. She swallows thick. This was going to take the small amount of guts she had. But it was worth it to keep Daryl ok.

* * *

Daryl's eyes opened slowly as he groans and looks around to where he was. His eyes widen when he sees his strapped to a chair in a room, firmly. And then he remembers what happened. The food, Annie, the bottle on his head.

Annie.

Jesus, where the fuck was she? She was not going to get eaten. Not on his watch. With the small movement he was able to do, he tries to reach around his belt and grab his knife, but of course find it taken off his body. "Fuck," he growls, looking for anything that could be around to help him get out of the binds, but found the room completely and utterly empty. Nothing to help him.

"Damn it, what the hel-" He suddenly hears the chair creak under him and looks down. It was just a simple wooden chair. Nothing like steel or hard wood. Just a simple chair. With enough force…

He uses the amount of very small space he had to climb on his feet. If someone had a camera right now, him being on practically his tip toes strapped to a chair would have been a funny picture, but right now, he wasn't really thinking about that. The only thing that rang through his head was Anna. That she could be getting hurt, or stabbed, or even worse…

He slams the chair into the wall behind him and falls to the floor as it easily breaks under the force of the push and his weight. The ropes fall slackly around him and he removes them from his body, throwing them angrily to the side and standing up on his feet. He takes one of the legs from the chair and breaks one of them, turning the end into a sharp point that would be perfect until he could find his god damn weapons.

Then the door slams open. And he sees Joel walk in with something that seemed to be an axe. Daryl stands in the middle of the room, and angry look on his face. While Joel still thought he was still in the chair. The younger man looks up and sees that Daryl is up and standing, and nearly drops his axe to the ground in shock.

"How…How did you…" But Daryl interrupts him by forcefully slamming him into the wall and taking the axe from his hands.

"Where is Annie?" he snarls lowly. "Or else I swear I will cut yer head clean off right now."

"In…in the guest…room," he chokes out against Daryl's strong hold. Daryl throws him to the ground and Joel begins the cough up blood from the amount of pressure Daryl had on his neck before.

"Ya better best pray she's safe, or else I'm commin' for ya next," he threatens before stepping out of the room. "Ain't no one getting eatin' today."

* * *

(**Events happening now are same time that Daryl wakes up. Just wanted to clear that up.)**

"Cory?" Annie whines to the man outside. She gets no response the first time, so keeps on trying. "Cory, please talk to me," she says lowly. She hears a bit of a shuffle outside and smiles a bit to herself.

"What do you want?" he asks harshly. 'Now or never,' she thinks to herself.

"I'm sorry I was such a bitch earlier on your proposal. I was just…I guess a little…frustrated," she whispers. She hears him gulp and she nearly gags herself. Why was she doing this again? Right, to get to Daryl. Just think of Daryl.

"What kind of frustration?" he asks lowly, and she could sense a bit of huskiness in his voice. She makes a face quickly, trying hard to not vomit, and continues.

"Oh, I dunno…haven't really been getting satisfaction from my man lately. I was wondering if you would maybe come in and relieve a bit of it?" she says as seductively as she could. "I mean, if you still want too," she adds on, while taking off her plaid cover up, lowers her shirt a bit to show a bit of her breasts. and tousling her hair to make her look a bit more appealing so she could reel him right in.

As she predicts, the man slams open the door and gapes at her slightly now shown body. She walks forward slowly and pulls him in, grabbing the front of his shirt.

"Where's the rest of your family?" she whispers.

"Pa's outside guarding the house and Ma's with him." She smiles sweetly at him.

"Let's make a deal. How about I give you exactly what you want and what I want, and you let me go. I'll keep my dirty mouth shut about all of this, and we part way as buddies, ok? Maybe even some tension reliving every once and a while. Deal?" she asks. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"What about the hick." She feels her blood boil a bit but smiles at him.

"What hick?" she replies, leaning close enough so he could feel her sweet breath on his lips. She catches a scent of him and frowns inwardly. He smelled like shit and dog food. Basically that same things either way though.

He leans forward, as if to kiss her, and so does she, but at the last moment she grabs the back of his head by his hair and slams it into the small window, breaking it free. He lets out a scream as glass punctures his head. But he still tries to grab her to stop all her movements. Now fuelled with even more rage, she slams him onto the ground, takes a piece of glass, and hammers it through his head. She sees him go still instantly, but she keeps slamming it in over and over again. Looking at him brought back demons she didn't ever want to see. Memories she didn't want to relive. And the fact that he almost touched her made her just want to tear apart his body and feed it to the walkers.

Tears start to stream down her face when she continues to stab his head multiple times, already knowing that her hands were going to be cut like crazy from the piercing edge of the glass. She hears someone scream her name, but blocks them out. Then feels someone grabbing her body and pulling her back. She struggles against the grip.

"Let me go! I don't want to! Let me go!" she cries, trying to break free, when she is suddenly turned around and facing the person who had grabbed her.

"Annie, it's just me!" Daryl yells at her. "Annie, calm down!" he says, grabbing her fists and forcing her to look up at him. Her eyes make contact with his and feels his heart break when he sees her eyes were red and puffy. And then sees the few bruises on her face and arms. He would kill these fuckers. Soon. But right now they needed to get out of that house. "It's just me," he repeats quieter. She looks up at him and then collapses in his arms.

"He tried to touch me Daryl. I said no and he tried to touch me," she cries into his shirt. He could feel his shirt getting soaked but he didn't care at the moment. His eyes travel to the dead Cory now on the floor, but realizes that this kid must have been dead before he could even try to touch her. This was something in her past. Something was brought up.

"It's fine, baby. Everything's gonna be fine," he murmurs into her hair, placing his arms carefully around her so she wouldn't be scared of anything. He catches a sniff of her hair and inhales it deeply. God, it smelt like fucking cinnamon. "But right now we have to get the hell out of here," he says quietly. She looks up at him, wiping her eyes and nodding, leaning down and grabbing his hand. He glances at it for a second before nodding and leading her to the back of the house.

He already knew that Walt was in the front guarding. But maybe there was no one in the back. But of course that was too easy. Patty was there, rifle and everything. Daryl curses under his breath, but the sudden squeeze he felt in his hand caused him to look up. Annie was smiling at him, and he furrows his brow. What the hell did she have to be smiling 'bout this time?

She lets go of his hand and walks over quietly to the kitchen table. Then, taking one of the bottles off it, she walks slowly over to the open window and throws the bottle to the other direction of the field, where they wouldn't be. As expected, Patty looks that way and begins to walk over to where she heard the noise. Daryl smirks at Annie. Impressive.

She grabs his hand as they set out again. And this time they slowly open the porch door and ease out. Annie saw Patty make her way around the corner of the house, and she nods at Daryl. The two take off to the forest that was nearly right behind the house. But it doesn't go unnoticed. Patty hears a twig snap, and turns around just in time to see Daryl and Annie running off.

"FUCK!" she screams, shooting at them. Daryl and Annie run as fast as they could through the trees, but one shot seems to get through and grazes Annie's leg. She collapses on the ground for a second from the pain only to get right back up. Daryl steadies her.

"Are ya ok?" he asks quickly. She nods just as fast.

"Just grazed me. Let's go!" she yells, running as fast as her injured leg could allow. They could still hear the gun shots being fired as they ran.

Patty glares at the forest while Walt runs to her. "They escaped!" she yells, stepping into the house. Then stops when she sees her son killed and bloody all on the ground. She screams in terror as Walt places an arm on her shoulder. Revenge clear in his eyes.

These people would pay.

* * *

Annie didn't look back. She didn't want to look back. All she needed now was to look forward. She knew these people were going to come after them. But if they could escape them once, they could do it again. But right now, she needed to get this leg fixed or she was gonna be a goner.

* * *

**Reviews are always so nice! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!**

**Song Lyrics: Safe and Sound-Taylor Swift (The Hunger Games Soundtrack)**


	12. Burn

**We, we dont have to worry bout nothing****  
****Cause we got the fire, and we're burning one hell of a something****  
****They, they gonna see us from outer space, outer space****  
****Light it up, like we're the stars of the human race, human race****  
****When the lights turned down, they dont know what they heard****  
****Strike the match, play it loud, giving love to the world****  
****We'll be raising our hands, shining up to the sky****  
****Cause we got the fire, fire, fire, yeah we got the fire fire fire****  
****And we gonna let it burn burn burn burn****  
****We gonna let it burn burn burn burn****  
****Gonna let it burn burn burn burn****  
****We gonna let it burn burn burn burn**

* * *

Blazing pain was spreading throughout Annie's leg as she and Daryl walked-or, rather limped, for her- through the woods to find a place that they could stitch up her wound. Daryl had handed her a clothe to cover it so the bleeding would at least slow down, but it still hurt like a bitch. He had mentioned that there was this one place he and his group had come across once, and that they were in that area. So right now he was leading her to hell knows where, while she was looking at the ground , trying to keep her eyes open.

It was night time after all. And the blood loss was not helping her situation at all. And at that moment she decides to become a little kid again.

"Are we there yet?" she whines loudly, startling him out of his silence. He chuckles softly at the girl.

"What? Ya tired already?" he jokes. She glares at him.

"Daryl, I got shot in the leg, and we have people after us now. I'm as happy as a deer in spring," she says sarcastically. "My leg hurts like a bitch."

"Well, we're almost there," he states. "Probably another fifteen minutes, but if ya like is hurting ya that much," he trails off. Raising an eyebrow at him, he comes over and scoops her up in his arms, bridal style. She lets out a squeal of surprise.

"Daryl, what are you doing?" she says quietly, thankful that it was dark so he wouldn't see the redness that adorned her face. She felt the vibration in his chest as he chuckles.

"Ya said ya leg hurts. So I'll make it a bit easier till we get there." She continues to protest.

"Daryl, I can make it-"

"Annie, just go to sleep," he says, shaking his head. "No point in fightin' because I ain't puttin' ya down." She looks up at him for a second before simply rolling her eyes and closing them after. And found herself snuggling a bit deeper into his chest. And then she fell straight to sleep. Damn her exhaustion.

Daryl looks down and sees that the girls breathing had changed and she was now fast asleep, snuggled deep in his chest now, her eyes fluttering a bit with whatever dream she was having. He smiles softly at the girl. No matter how much he hated to admit it, and how bad he knew it was going to be, he was falling for her. And hard. And every single little thing seemed to make him fall a bit more each time. Jesus, what was he turning into? He was going to get himself killed because of her.

But right now she was the only thing keeping him going. When the prison had fallen, he had escaped alone from the wreck, and was practically a shell of himself for two weeks. He had no one. He was alone. All of the people he had grown close to where gone. And there wasn't a doubt in his mind at the time. He was thinking of ending it. And then he met her. Being held against her will against some asshole that he had no clue if he was alive or not.

But he didn't care. Even if he was, he swore he would keep this girl alive, even if it meant getting hurt in the process. And now she was bleeding and he needed to get her patched up.

In the distance, he sees the small country house he had found on one of his runs and sighs gratefully. He knew there was some medical supplies in there he could use to patch up her wound. Walking a bit faster to go to the door, he open it with his side and pushes the door open, making sure not to bump Annie's head on the hard wooden surface.

Looking inside, he notices for the first time that it looked like just a simple country house. Something that a small family would live in. Mom and dad, maybe three kids, but looked like it could only fit two, and maybe a pet. A dog. He remembered he had a dog before his god damn father put him down for a stupid mistake he did when he was a kid. He loved that dog.

Walking over to the couch that was set in the small living room, he lays her down gently on it and sees that there was no way she was waking up unless he told her. He places his hand on her shoulder and shakes her a bit. She groans in her sleep.

"Annie, gotta wake up," he says to her softly. She simply mumbles something incoherent. He rolls his eyes. "I'll pour a bucket of water on ya if ya don't open those eyes," he warns slightly. Finally, cooperating, she opens her eyes slowly and glances up at him, sleep apparent in her eyes. And even then, her eyes drowsy, she still looked practically perfect. God, he was not the man he was before all of this anymore.

"I guess were here," she replies simply, looking around the small house. "Nice little place. Was this your house before all this?" she asks sleepily. He snorts, shaking his head.

"This ain't nothing what my house was like. I wish it was," he mumbles under his breath. "We gotta get that leg patched up. Stay here while I go and get the supplies, ok? Don't need ya runnin' off," he says. She snorts.

"Do I look like I can run, Dixon?" she says, leaning a bit on the couch, gesturing to her now very bloody leg. "If anything, you'll be the one running," she states. "So run, Forrest, run!"

* * *

Annie gripped onto the seat and held in her painful words as Daryl stitched through her skin. She hated stitches. It made her want to puke watching people stitch. But she either kept her eyes trained on the ceiling, or on Daryl's concentrated face. She decides to spark up a bit of conversation to avoid the silence between them.

"So how did you find this place exactly?" she states. Daryl looks up to meet her eyes for a second and then looks back down at his work he was doing.

"Was out on a run with my old group, found this place, and decided this would be a good place to go if anything happened. But I prefer just walking around in the woods half the time." She furrows her brow.

"Why? Don't you like a warm bed?" she says. "Or real food? Don't tell me you prefer snake over just plain cereal," she says, chuckling to herself. He rolls his eyes slightly.

"I'm just more adapt to it. Practically live in the woods my whole life. Had to learn how to survive. My pa was never there for me, so I had to learn to rely on nothing basically," he says quietly. He hadn't shared that much about his past with anyone like this in a while. She frowns looking down.

"I know how that feels. But if you need someone ever to rely on, I'm here," she states, looking down at him, now with a smile on her face. He looks up and meets her eyes again, and he feels his heart melt slightly at her expression, filled with happiness and concern and…something else.

He clears his throat and looks down. "I know that," he replies, now finishing up the stitching and tying the hard string. "There, done. Bad parts over," he replies, cleaning it a little and then starting to wrap her leg up in a bandage.

"You haven't really talked about your group that much," she states a bit. "What was life like with them? Who was there?" He's silent. She sighs. Ok, she really did want to hear about his group. Maybe if she shared a bit from her old life she would get something out. "Ok, I'll share some about mine."

"I thought ya said ya were alone," he states confused. She shakes her head.

"I was when you found me. But like I said, I had group before that was quite nice. There were eight people. There was Riley, and she was the leader, and her sister Danielle. They were both so brave and not to mention not bad on the eyes either. And then there was Grace and Tina, and they were the bronze and brains of the whole entire group. Then there was Mike, who was Grace's boyfriend, and Sam, who was Tina's brother. And then there's Matt, who I think had something going on with Riley, but hell if I'll never know, and then there Conner. He and Danielle were close friends, but a lot of people thought they had something going on. And they welcomed me with open arms. Matt was sweet with me, and he was the closest. And then one day I went hunting with them and we came across these people."

She looks down and sighs, shaking her head. She moves her leg so she could make room for Daryl on the couch. He simply looks at the cushion. "Get up here, asshole," she states jokingly. He snickers and gets up, leaning on the back of the couch. She takes a deep breath and continues.

"Matt pissed them off because we took their deer and they said it was there's and Matt said some choice words and…that was that. We came back to the camp, cooked up the deer, had few laughs over dinner, and then they came and opened fire on the camp. I was the only one I think that got out alive of that. I don't know if the group who killed mine is still alive, but my group isn't. So that doesn't really matter anymore." She looks over at Daryl and sees that he was looking at her intensely. "I mean, I was thinking of ending it before you came along. And then you practically saved my life twice and all that and I got stuck. So now because of this I got shot and am now lying on a couch in a stinky old house with some washed up person who really needs a fucking shower dude," she chuckles, waving her hand in his direction and pinching her nose. He chuckles at her reaction.

"Wanted to know about my group?" he says quietly. She looks up a bit and shrugs her shoulders.

"Only if you're comfortable with it," she states, coming a bit closer to him.

"Might as well if ya shared so much about that," he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. "I had a group. Pretty small at first. In fact, at first I hated all of them. Hated them even more when one of the dipshit cops there handcuffed my brother to a roof in a city full of walkers." She gasps at this.

"Jesus, really?" she says shocked. "Who does that?" she adds on. He smiles a bit at her reaction. He hadn't told people about his group at all, but he wasn't expecting reactions like this.

"Well, these people at the time," he replies. And he kept talking. From the quarry to the CDC to the farm, and she got her explanation as to why he was looking in the barn before all of this, to the road and to the people, then to the prison and to the Governor. The man who had taken their safe haven away. She could tell everything was kind of a sensitive subject for him. But she decided to try and keep the mood a little bright so he wouldn't end up going into a fit of rage.

"You told me about this Carol woman, right? Were you two close?" she says softly. He looks down at the ground.

"Yeah," he replies. She looks away for a second.

"Did you love her?" she says ever softer. He's silent for a second.

"Not like that. Like a sister, or a mother figure, but not like that." She nods, a little happy on the inside but still showing a bit of sympathy for him losing his group.

"She was the woman who's kid you looked for, right?" He nods. "Did something change about her after wards? I feel like something would happen to someone who just lost her child." Daryl nods.

"Yeah, she got stronger… but, uh….she changed," he states. "She killed two people at the prison." She furrows her brow.

"Why?" she asks.

"There was an illness and she thought by killing these two people she could have stopped it from spreadin' but that didn't work. But these people could have made out ok. We had people who survived it. And she just…killed them," he says. "Just like that."

"Some people do that for the ones they love. But I understand where you're confusion comes from. She should have at least talked to someone before she did that." She looks at the broken TV and sighs. "Wish we could get that working again. Watch something like we did that first night."

"Should have kept lookin'," he mumbles under his breath. But she hears and she listens closely.

"What?" she asks.

"I should have kept lookin'," he says a bit more forcefully. "If I didn't stop lookin' for the Governor, I could have stopped all of this from happenin'. I could have kept all of them safe. I could have saved Hershel," he chokes out. This was probably the most he was sharing with anyone in his life. The most he would let anyone see. But he had to get this out before he just exploded. "I should have just kept lookin'. It's all on me," he says, looking down at the ground, his head in his hands. She moves closer.

"You can't blame all this on yourself, Daryl. You're just one man. You can't save the world," she says. She thinks for a moment. "Well, unless you were somehow immune to this. But I really don't want to risk that." She sees him let out the ghost of a laugh. She frowns. This man had been hiding this all along. Underneath that tough exterior, he was broken. Torn apart over the fact that he may ever see his family again. And this place probably just reminded him of his past and his family.

She steps over and wraps her arms around him in a tight bear hug, and for the first time, she feels him break down, and feels his body rack with sobs, while she just held him on the couch, letting him cry for all of the pain and loss he felt for the first time in forever.

After she felt his sobs die down, and he wasn't shaking anymore, she smiles. He needed to come to peace with this. "Want to burn it down?" she questions in his ear. He turns to her with a confused look on his face.

"What?" he asks. She smiles wider.

"This house. Want to burn it down? Settle with the past?" she asks. He stares at her for a second nefore narrowing his eyes.

"How do ya plan on doing that?" She chuckles, letting go of him and walking over to her small bag. Then, reaching in, she grabs some alcohol, about five bottles they could spread, out of her bag. "Woman, where the fuck did ya get that?" he asks amazed.

"I'm quite sneaky," she replies. "Stole some before we left the place. Also got a lighter in here. Wanna do it?" she asks, waving one of the bottles in the air. He stares at the bottle for a second before snickering and getting up, grabbing it.

"Let's do it."

* * *

They later stood outside of the small two story house, looking at the splattered alcohol all over the front and inside. Annie chuckles to herself.

"Just to say something, you do know those people are after us now, right? This isn't a game," she says softly. He looks at her and nods.

"I know. We'll just kill 'em together." She smiles and looks at the house. She raises her lighter and takes out a small deck of paper from a store she had visited a while ago, set fire to it, and let Daryl throw it into the house. A moment later, flames erupted from inside the house and started to spread outside. Annie could feel the heat hitting her body and she sighs happily.

"Come on, let's get out of here before the walkers come," she replies, grabbing his hand. He looks down at her hand and bites his lip for a second. She raises an eyebrow. "What? It's just hand holding Daryl," she chuckles. He rolls his eyes and removes his hands, only to place his arm around her shoulders.

"Gonna need support for that leg," he states simply, helping her walk. She smiles at him and lets him help her. The past was in the past now. It was time to start a new.

* * *

**A/N: I got a little deep in this chapter! And yeah, I kind of used a bit of the episode 'Still' but I made it different in my own way so I wouldn't be copying word for word because honestly I don't like doing that. XD Reviews? That would be awesome! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!**

**Song Lyrics: Burn-Ellie Goulding**


	13. A Break From Hell

**Hello! So don't think that my song choice is weird or something like that. I know it's a little kids song from a little kids movie, but I literally just watched Mary Poppins for the first time last night in my life, and literally FELL IN LOVE with the music! So I had to use one of the songs from the movie, and I loved this one, so I'm using it. And it'll relate to the chapter later on, don't you worry. Now, on with the story!**

* * *

**In ev'ry job that must be done  
There is an element of fun  
You find the fun and snap!  
The job's a game  
And ev'ry task you undertake  
Becomes a piece of cake  
A lark! A spree! It's very clear to see that  
A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down  
The medicine go down-wown  
The medicine go down  
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down  
In a most delightful way**

* * *

Anna glances down at her bandaged up leg and sighs. The jeans she had gotten at the farm house had fit her so well when she put them on, even if they were given to her by crazy people. But they still fit. When she got shot, Daryl had told her that the wound had to get at least a bit of air to it, and that meant that she couldn't have the jeans anymore. So that left her to cut off her jeans to make them shorts. She never really liked shorts that much. She wore them to the middle of her thighs, but since the shot was at the middle of her thighs right now, they were extra short and she did not like that.

She looks around the forest and sighs. Her and Daryl had been walking for who the hell knows how long ever since they set that house on fire. It had been two nights since, and they had made quite good time just walking around and surviving and killing things. But to be true all she wanted to do was find a house to settle in for the night and relax. She was getting tired of the forest floor.

Glancing up at Daryl, she smiles slightly at him from behind. She had no clue where he was leading them too, but she trusted him. And when they set fire to the house, she could see that he lightened up a bit. He always seemed a bit comfortable around her, but right now she felt like their bond had grown even closer since then. She actually saw him give her a sincere smile the other night after the burning.

She bit her lip as her eyes traveled across his body, consuming him from head to toe. In this world, you really shouldn't get close to anyone, or even be attracted to someone. But she really could not help herself. There were always two things she really noticed about him that did the deal. One was his arms. They were toned as hell, and whenever he used his crossbow she would always see his muscles flex. And she hated to admit it, but it turned her on so much.

The other thing she loved was his hair. Granted, she had never been a hair fan. She had never had good hair until she got out of the orphanage, but his dirty brown locks were something fantastic. And he had to be the only man that she thought it looked good on. Any other and she wouldn't spare them a second glance, but with him it just made him look handsomer. But at that moment she realizes that she never really looked at Daryl behind his hair. It was always blocking his bloody eyes.

She laughs at herself, then cringes when she feels the slight pain in her leg. She stops for a second and leans against a tree to catch her breath. Daryl doesn't hear her footsteps anymore and turns around to find her, hands on her leg, trying to stop the little pain that was running through her body. "'Nothing horse?" he asks, coming over to her.

"Yeah," she grinds out, trying to hold in her cries from the pain. Ever since she got shot she had been getting killer Charlie horses in her leg, and they were torture. "Can we just wait it out for a second?" she asks quietly. He nods and comes over to her. She was breathing in and out slowly. So for a moment she didn't question why Daryl was laying her on the ground instead of standing. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"Havin' ya sit down. Ain't no use standin'" he replies. She nods shakily and leans her head against the tree, taking a deep breath.

"I really do not like walking. Can we like find a car or something?" she mumbles, closing her eyes. "I mean, I know you're used to it, but my leg REALLY hurts." He chuckles and sits down beside her.

"Ya know how hard that is now," he replies. She shrugs her shoulders.

"Was worth a try," she replies. He reaches into his pack and hands her a bottle of water, to which she takes it gratefully. It was scorching that day. She takes a few hefty gulps and closes the cap. "Thanks," she says, handing the bottle back to him. He takes it and puts it in his bag again.

"Do ya think ya can make it just one more mile? There's a small town up ahead. Saw a sign few miles back." She groans and closes her eyes, banging her head against the tree. He snickers at her reaction.

"I should make you carry me," she jokes, shaking her head and standing up slowly, her Charlie horse now gone. She sees him get up next to her and she dust off the dirt on her legs. Then, she sees him go in front of her and lean down slightly.

"Hop on," he says. She raises an eyebrow.

"I was kidding," she chuckles. "Are you really serious?"

"Yeah, it's a serious piggyback," he replies. She giggles slightly, smiling at his reaction. Gaining enough pressure, she wraps her arms around his neck and climbs on, and his arms go underneath her elgs to keep her up.

"This is awesome," she chuckles. "I've never gotten a piggyback, like ever." She feels him chuckle.

"Well then this is going to be one hell of a ride then, huh?"

* * *

The two stumble upon a small stable in the woods, and something in one of the areas catches Annie's attention. "Daryl, there's something in there," she says to him. "I want to see it."

"It might just be walkers, Annie," he replies, still walking. She rolls her eyes and pulls him back, trying to stop him from walking. He sighs and stops. "What?" he replies more stubbornly.

"I want to see what it is!" she says a bit louder, gesturing to him piggybacking her. "Trust me, I love riding on your back. It's actually quite comfy. But I really want to see what's in there. If it's just walkers, we can get out quick and keep moving." He glares at her for a second before sighing and placing her on the ground slowly.

"This better be worth it, woman," he mumbles. She laughs and takes out her gun.

"I hope it is too. We might find dinner in there as well. Who knows?" she replies cheekily, walking towards the stable quickly, at least as quick as her leg could allow.

"Whoa, slow down," he says coming up to her. "We still don't know if its walkers or not." She shrugs her shoulders.

"I just want to see. Stop being a worry wart," she replies, walking further into the stables now. He stares at her in silence, shaking his head. With her he always worried. She was fucking shot! How was he not supposed to worry?!

She goes into the stables slowly and takes a quick look around. No walkers in sight. Just like she thought. But she knew she saw something down there. Walking a bit closer, she takes a peak around the corner, having her gun in her hands just in case, but almost drops dead in cuteness when she sees a white horse near the corner of the stable, looking at her frightened.

"It's ok, boy," she says quietly, approaching the horse slowly. "I'm not going to hurt you, see?" she says, putting the gun in her belt. "I'm friendly. I'll feed you and take care of you. I wont do anything bad," she says, coming close enough to touch it's nose. She tentively reaches out and pets his soft fur, and smiles when he doesn't pull away. "There's a good boy," she says, petting him a bit more.

"A horse?" she hears behind her. She turns around and meets Daryl's eyes. "We came all the way down here for a horse?" She rolls her eyes.

"It's better then walking!" she states happily, tuning back to the horse. "What do you say, buddy? Want to come with us?" The horse neighs softly at her and she smiles. "I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

Annie looks through the drawers of one of the houses she and Daryl had found. Sure enough, they had made it to the small town and it had been filled with walkers, but slowly they took them out. The new white horse was outside and Daryl was tying him down so he wouldn't run away. She was personally going to go outside and feed him something she finds in the kitchen. She hums some songs under her breath and thinks back the first movie she ever watched when she was younger. It had been Mary Poppins.

That reminded her. She looks into the cabinets above and smiles. Sure enough, there were sugar cubs she could give to the horse. She smiles and takes them in her hands, then goes outside to give them to the small horse that they had ridden into town. Going outside, she sees Daryl finishing up the knot of the rope around the horses neck to tie him to the fence. She walks over and leans to the horse.

"Hey boy," she says, petting his nozzle. "Want some of these?" she says, holding her hand out to his mouth. He neighs and starts to lick them out of her hand, causing her to laugh. Daryl raises an eyebrow.

"Where the hell did ya find those?" he asks. She gestures her head to the house.

"They were in the cabinet of the kitchen. I thought they would be perfect for him," she murmurs at the horse, who was eating the sugar cubs gratefully. She starts to hum "Spoonful of Sugar" under her breath while the horse ate, and Daryl gazes at the woman as she hums the song. He had never heard of it.

"What is that?" he asks. She looks at him surprised.

"You've never seen Mary Poppins?" she says amazed. She thought every kid had seen it at least once in their lives. He shakes his head amusedly. She groans in pleasure, shaking her head. "Jesus, you HAVE to watch it! This house has a generator! We could watch it!" she says gleefully. He rolls his eyes.

"I don't need to watch a damn kids movie," he replies grumpily. She chuckles.

"It's more than a kids movie," she says softly, smiling to herself. "It's a classic. You can't go your life without watching Mary Poppins." She finishes feeding the horse and walks over to him, grabbing his hand, not the one that had been licked to death by the horse but the other one, and steers him towards the house. "And now, we don't know if we get a tomorrow."

He looks at her face and sees she actually really wanted him to watch it. He sighs. He wasn't going to get out of it even if he tried, especially since she was looking at him like that.

* * *

"_Step in time, step in time__  
__Step in time, step in time__  
__Never need a reason,__  
__Never need a rhyme__  
__Step in time, you step in time!__  
__Kick your knees up!__  
__Kick your knees up, step in time__  
__Kick your knees up, step in time__  
__Never need a reason,__  
__Never need a rhyme__  
__Kick your knees up, step in time__  
__Round the chimney!__  
__Round the chimney, step in time__  
__Round the chimney, step in time__  
__Never need a reason,__  
__Never need a rhyme__  
__Round the chimney, step in time"_

Annie was leaning on the edge of the bed her and Daryl were sharing for the night. The house was small, only one bedroom, but she didn't mind. There was a TV in the bedroom, and as soon as they were done eating, she practically dragged him in there so they could watch the movie. She had found it.

"I still don't get it, though," Daryl says, leaning against the headboard. "Is there something going on between that dude and Mary?" he asks. Annie chuckles.

"I've watched this movie so much and I don't even know. But the chemistry is there, right?" she states, turning back to him and pushing back a bit so she was leaning on the headboard as well. "I've always loved this scene a lot. It's so-" It's interrupted by a big yawn coming from her mouth. "Catchy," she finishes drowsily. He chuckles.

"Getting' tired, huh?" he says. She rolls her eyes.

"No, I'm staying up until you see the end of this movie!" she states, but become defenseless as she yawns again and leans her head on his shoulder. And for the first time she doesn't feel him stiffen under her touch. "What's your favorite movie you've ever watched?" she asks quietly.

He thinks for a second. He never really saw that many movies when he was younger. Didn't have the money nor the time. But he had seen a few.

"Dunno…maybe 'The Shining,'" he says. That was the first movie that popped up in his head.

"That movie scared me when I was younger. I haven't watched it in a while," she says, trying to keep her eyes open. "Wonder if we'll find that as well. To be true, I don't' want to watch anymore horror movies. My life's already a real life horror movie." He chuckles a bit.

"Very true," he says. It really was a horror movie now. She nods sleepily.

"Yeah," she says quietly, listening to the last line of 'Step in Time.' "Aw, fuck it," she says. Leaning up, she pecks his cheeks slowly, and pulls back, her cheeks red. She sees his were slightly as well. "I'm tired, goodnight Daryl," she whispers, leaning down on the bed and resting her head on the pillow. "You better watch the rest of this," she mumbles lastly. She hears him chuckle.

"Goodnight, Annie," he says softly to her. He hears her completely pass out, her soft, and he meant very soft, snores now evident. He looks at the TV and sighs. If he didn't stay up this woman would have his head on a platter. He rolls his eyes and continues to watch. This movie better be worth it.

* * *

**A/N: Reviews would be great and really help motivate me so please share some opinions! XD Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed as much as I did writing it! I'm happy I incorporated a little bit of funny with cute and then the whole Mary Poppins thing. I needed to use it! And this chapter was a bit mushy, i wanted to kind of start of their relationship here, even though it hasnt really started yet XD But next chapter will have a bit more action in it. Again, thank you and review! :)**

**Song Lyrics: Spoonful of Sugar-Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins)**


	14. I've Never

**A/N: Thanks for all the new followers and favorites! It means a lot to see people are enjoying the story! Ok, so now on with this.**

* * *

**All I knew this morning when I woke****  
****Is I know something now,****  
****know something now****  
****I didn't before****  
****And all I've seen****  
****since 18 hours ago****  
****is green eyes and freckles and your smile**

**in the back of my mind making me feel right****  
****I just want to know you better know****  
****you better know****  
****you better now****  
****I just want to know you better know****  
****you better know you better now****  
****Cause all I know is we said hello****  
****And your eyes look like coming home****  
****All I know is a simple name,****  
****everything has changed****  
****All I know is you held the door****  
****You'll be mine and I'll be yours****  
****All I know since yesterday****  
****is everything has changed**

_**-Everything has Changed (Taylor Swift)**_

* * *

Annie's eyes open slowly the next morning, adjusting to the bright light in the room. And right now for some reason she literally felt like she was being crushed by something tight around her. Opening her eyes a bit more and twisting her body, she looks a little and is surprised a bit by what she sees. Daryl was sleeping soundly next to her, as if he didn't have a car in the world, but his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and his face was buried in the crook of her neck.

She blushes slightly and looks at Daryl. He looked so much different when he slept. He looked younger and more at peace then he usually was during the day. She wondered if he dreamed anymore. She had lost half her dreams ever since this whole thing started, she had had nothing but nightmares half the time.

Glancing down at the his arms, she knew he probably didn't do this on purpose. He must have done it in his sleep…right?

She rolls her eyes. She was thinking way too much. Slowly, she moves his arms from her waist so she wouldn't wake him up. When they were successfully on the bed next to her, she looks around and her eyes land on the TV. The movie was done, but she still didn't know if he watched it till the end. She sighs and shakes her head. Well, it's not like it really mattered anymore.

Climbing out of bed, she places her jacket on over her clothes and places her boots on as well. Walking quietly out of the room, she goes into the kitchen, grabs something from her bag, some sort of granola bar, and nibbles on it, while searching for something for her horse. She was thinking of a name to name him. She wanted to name him Sugar, but he was a dude. That would just be plain wrong.

She thinks while she hunts for something. And the first thing she grabs in the bag was crackers. She looks at them for a second, and then smiles. "Crackers," she says to herself, testing it out. "I like that."

She walks outside and sees that the sky was darker then usual for the morning and she frowns. It was going to rain. Brilliant.

Walking over to the little fence, she sees that Crackers was up and moving. She smiles and walks over to him. "Hey, boy. Want some Crackers?" she says to him. The horse neighs happily in reply and takes the few from her hand, starting to nibble on them. She laughs at the horses persistence, but stops when she hears groans coming from the forest behind the house.

She glances over and sees a walker stumble out of the trees. It notices her and pursues forward. 'Nothing I can't handle,' she thinks, taking out her knife and going a bit forward, but stops when she sees another come out. And then another. And then another again. One after one comes and she panics. A horde was coming. And they see her.

"Oh shit," she whispers, running back to her horse and letting him free before the walkers could get him. She takes him to the front of the house and looks at him. "Don't move anywhere!" she says, running back into the house. She runs to the bedroom and sees Daryl was still asleep. Oh, she was going to regret this. She runs over and shakes his shoulder violently. "Daryl, get up!" she yells at him. Almost immediately he jumps from his sleep and looks around.

"What the-"

"There's a horde outside. They know we're in there. The horse is ready to go. HURRY UP!" she yells at him, running back into the kitchen to get her bag ready really quickly. She didn't even wait for a reply. They needed to get out of there and quick.

Not even a minute later, she sees Daryl come out of the bedroom quickly, stuff already on, which she was impressed by. She didn't even think anyone could get dressed that fast. But she didn't care. They needed to get the hell out of there now.

"Ready?" he asks. She snorts.

"Always, Dixon," she replies. He opens the door and she goes outside. She is met by a walker. She stabs it in its head and pushes it to the side to get to her horse. Walkers were starting to come closer. Some to her, and some to Daryl, but she kept a constant path to the horse across the yard. Stabbing each and every walker in her path. When she had just made it to the horse, a walker grabbed her from behind and she yelps. Turning around to stab him, she is stopped when an arrow goes in its head. She watches it fall and nods as Daryl comes up behind her.

"Get on!" he says climbing onto the horse in the front. She nods quickly and climbs on, kicking away the walkers hands that were reaching for her ankles. She wraps her arms around his waist and he tells Crackers to go, and the horse takes off. The walkers try to grab them but they were too quick. This horse must have been some sort of racing horse before all of this, because he was very quick. Annie glances behind her and the walkers following them, but they wouldn't find them if they kept on this track. They just needed to keep going.

* * *

Crackers had slowed to a steady trot as they were getting through the trees and the small dirt paths that were there. Annie still had her arms glued around Daryl's waist, but he didn't seem to mind. She glances up at the sky and noticed it had gotten darker as they had traveled. "We're going to need to find shelter soon. Gonna rain," she says quietly. She was tired from the days previous events. The adrenaline well had run dry and she just needed a place to rest for a while.

"I know that," Daryl replies. "That's why we're still on the horse. And from the looks of it, it's gonna be a big one," he adds on, looking up at the sky as well.

"Well that's perfect," she states under her breath. She never liked storms. Rain she liked. Lightening maybe. But Thunder? Get the fuck out of here. She hated thunder so much. "I'm gonna guess you didn't finish the movie last night after I went to sleep, right?" she asks.

"Actually, I did," he replies, and she could sense a bit of defensiveness in his tone. She chuckles.

"Really? Then what was the end?" she asks.

"The nanny left and flew off into the sky with her weird talking umbrella." She snorts, laughing at his reaction of this. She knew he would think the umbrella was weird. She thought it had been the first time she watched it.

"Ok, you finished it. Didn't think you would," she replies. "Nice to know some people go through with their promises," she adds on. Before he could reply, she interrupts. "Hey, look. There's a shack we could stay at for the day while it rains," she says, pointing to a small area that was about twenty yards away. He looks over and takes a closer look at it. It seemed big enough for them. Hopefully it was big enough for the horse as well. He feels water on his skin.

"Good time to find it. Just startin' to rain."

* * *

Annie ties Crackers to a post in another room of the small shack they had found, leaving him to himself while she went back to the other small room she and Daryl had set up. She looks outside the small window and finds that the heavens were pouring rapidly on the ground below. Every once and a while she would hear the sound of thunder spread throughout the forest or see a flash of lightening splash in the sky, but she didn't mind right now at least. It wasn't that bad right now. It was sort of the pre storm faze.

She lays down some clothes and some of her clothes on the ground for a makeshift bed next to Daryl's, while he was glancing outside. She looks up and notices he had a frown on his face.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asks concerned. He looks down at her for a moment before shaking his head, looking back outside.

"Nah. Storm's just gonna be around for a while," he replies. "Won't be able to get back out there." She bites her lip and looks down at her bag, looking at all the stuff she had grabbed quickly before they had escaped the house. Some granola bars, a bottle of wine (don't judge), some small medical supplies and a notebook she could write in. A sudden thought crosses her mind.

"Daryl, are we even looking for your group anymore? Or are we just wondering around?" she asks. He looks and stares at her for second. He could see she was asking the honest truth about what they were doing. To be honest, he didn't know anymore. He knew that some of his group was still alive. He had this small feeling inside of him now because of her. But the chances of him finding them are zero to one. He knew that his time with them was basically done. And right now, he was perfectly content wondering around and keeping Annie safe. He simply shakes his head.

She sighs and looks down at her bag. This man was so confusing sometimes. She looks into her bag and smiles at the first thing she sees. "Want to play a game?" she asks, holding up the bottle of wine. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"How the hell?" he asks surprised. She laughs.

"I sort of just took it before we abandoned the place. Might as well have some fun. How about a game of 'I've Never?'" she says, waving the bottle around.

"We have to have someone to pay-"

"Oh, live a little, Dixon!" she whines. "We'll hear it if walkers are coming! Come and play," she says a bit like a little kid, gesturing to the mat. He stares at the mat for a second before shaking his head.

"What the hell," he mumbles, taking the bottle from her. She smiles. "Ya start," he replies, sitting opposite of her on the mat. She thinks for a second.

"I've never…ridden a motorcycle," she says. He raises an eyebrow at her and takes a sip. "You rid one?" she asks amazed. "I've always wanted to! Is it fun?" she says coming closer. He chuckles at her.

"Wasn't mine. It was my brothers, but I still rode it." She smiles. He kind of looked like the guy who rid one. "I've never been on vacation." She bites her lip.

"I don't know whether to take a sip or not," she chuckles. "When I came down here, I was only here for a day before the world went to shit, and that was supposed to be my first vacation, but since it was only day, I don't count it as one. So neither have I. Drink up, boy," she says.

"A simple no would have justified," Daryl mumbles, taking a sip. She laughs.

"I've never gone hunting before all of this." He takes a sip. "Figures," she chuckles.

"I've never danced with anyone," he says. She snorts, taking a nice big sip. When she pulls it back, she smiles.

"Went to college for dancing and music," she chuckles. "Loved it. You've never danced with anyone? I could teach you," she replies, just taking another sip of the whine for shits and grins. He shakes his head.

"I think I can survive without that," he replies. She chuckles.

"I've never been out of my home state," she replies. He shakes his head. She gasps. "You haven't? Damn, I thought I had that," she mumbles, taking a sip of the whine.

"What makes ya think a redneck like me has been out of Georgia?" he replies. She shrugs her shoulders.

"Hunting trips maybe?" she replies, starting to feel a bit of the affect of the alcohol. Her head gets a bit light and she smiles a bit. She loved the feeling of alcohol on her mind. He chuckles, shaking his head.

"Nah, haven't left the state." She smirks then at him, and Daryl literally had to remind himself to breath. She looked so god damn sexy with that smirk on her face.

"Think we'll have to change that," she replies, taking the bottle from him. "You're turn," she states. She seemed to shock him out of some sort of state.

"Right," he replies uneasily. "Uh…I've never been in jail," he states. She laughs and takes a sip. To be honest she was surprised he hadn't been in jail and she had. He seemed to be the guy who was get int beer fights and all that and end up in like one night in the slamer. His eyes widen slightly. "Ya have?" he asks amazed.

"Look, I was in bar on my birthday and this guy was trying to feel me up. So I took my beer bottle and smashed it on the side of his head to get him away. Knocked him out. Put him in a concussion for a month. I spent a few nights in jail, but nothing too hard. I charmed my way out. I am an actress."

"Ya didn't tell 'em it was self defense?" he asks, even though he was amazed she had been someone to actually hurt someone like that. She shrugs her shoulders.

"Nah. I survived, and made some pretty tough friends along the way. I could have called them up and they could have a body for me in ten minutes…not like I would need a body," she states quickly. He chuckles at that. "Um….I've never done something I regretted," she states. Granted, that was sort of a lie, but she needed something. She sees him take a drink and nods. "Yeah, I think we all have," she mumbles.

"I've never worn a dress," Daryl states. She looks down at the ground and shakes her head. His brow furrows. "You've never worn a dress?" he asks quietly. She laughs bitterly.

"Unless you count the rags I wore when I was in the orphanage, then no. I didn't. Never had the money until after college. And that's when shit hit the fan. So I've never gotten to go out and dress up. Look pretty. Huh, maybe that's why guys didn't come near me. I guess I wasn't pretty enough in simple jeans."

"That's a lie," Daryl states suddenly, causing her to look up in surprise. She saw his cheeks redden slightly, but he continues. "Ya are pretty, and those jeans before looked good on ya. I don't know what those ass's thought, but ya are good lookin'." She blushes furiously. She didn't know what to say to that. She just stared at him. She could tell he was embarrassed to let that out, but she was happy anyway.

"You gotta take a sip," she says softly , still keeping his gaze. He takes a quick one, still looking at her. "My turn?" He nods. "I've never had sex," she states softly, trying hard not to lose the intense stare session they were having. To be honest she didn't want it to end.

He doesn't say anything for a moment, just takes a sip from the bottle. Suddenly, something snaps in Annie and she leans forward and presses her lips to his. And he doesn't stiffen or flinch or cringe. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her closer to him, bringing her on top of his lap, straddling him. He bites her lower lip slightly, causing her to gasp, and takes the moment to slip his tongue into her mouth. She moans lowly as their tongue's fought for dominance, but obviously his won.

She had never felt more alive in her life. She had never been touched, kissed like this. And she knew her body was liking it, due to the certain heat that was spreading down below.

He moves his mouth form hers to her neck and starts to suck on certain spots, and almost every one made her moan in pleasure. At one point he bites down on the area where her neck and shoulder met, and she knew she needed to take this further. She needed him now.

Her hands start to trail down his shirt, wanting to unbutton it, but he stops her hands with his and places them down. She whimpers in protest at this and he chuckles, coming back up to meet her eyes.

"I don't want to take it while ya are drunk, darlin'," he whispers to her. She frowns.

"I'm not drunk!" she says to him, but he shakes his head.

"Yes, ya are. I can tell from yer eyes. Ya need to sleep it off and see what ya really want." She gives him an unbelievable look.

"I want you, Daryl," she whispers against his lip, pulling him back in for another kiss. He doesn't pull away and responds eagerly, but then a loud clap of thunder sounds and she jumps from where she was, backing up into the wall. "Damn it!" she yells, covering her ears slightly. She hears him chuckle.

"Afraid of a little thunder?" he teases. She glares at him.

"Shut up," she grumbles at him. He comes over to her and sits beside her. She looks at him for a moment before leaning up and placing another chaste kiss on his lips quickly. When she pulls back, she smiles. "You have no clue how long I've wanted to do that."

* * *

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	15. Walt and Patty

**A/N: Thanks for the new follows and favorites and the new review! It really means so much! It's awesome to wake up and find those. Right now I'm watching Saving Private Ryan and I've never seen it before. Gonna be hard to write this while watching it at the same time. XD**

* * *

**This is a story that I've never told  
I gotta get this off my chest to let it go  
I need to take back the light inside you stole  
You're a criminal  
And you steal like you're a pro**

**All the pain and the truth  
I wear like a battle wound  
So ashamed, so confused  
I was broken, and bruised**

**And now I'm a warrior  
Now I've got thicker skin  
I'm a warrior  
I'm stronger than I've ever been  
And my armor, is made of steel, you can't get in  
I'm a warrior  
And you can never hurt me again**

_**-Warrior (Demi Lovato)**_

* * *

"Why did I agree to do this again?" Annie asks Daryl while they were in the forest. She had his crossbow in her hands and apparently she had wanted to let him teach her how to use it. Something about knowing something other than using a gun and knives. And now she was barely able to keep it in her arms without letting it fall at least twice. "This thing is heavy," she states. He chuckles beside her.

"Nah ya just have no muscles," he replies. She glares at him for a moment.

"I have muscles! They're in my legs!" she says at him. "I was a dancer. I climbed trees to survive. I was a track star and cheerleader and a volleyball player in college." He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Ya were a cheerleader?" he asks surprised. She smirks at him.

"Short skirt and all. Barely reached the bottom of my ass," she states, turning to look at him. "You probably would have had a hard time trying not to touch me if I was wearing that now." He snorts.

"I have a hard time not touching ya right now. If ya were in a small cheerleadin' uniform, ya would be on the ground in seconds," he states, placing his hands in his pockets and smirking at her. She raises an eyebrow at him.

"Oh really? You think you're that confident?" she states, walking over to him so she was as close as she could get. "Let's see how well you can live up to those standards," she whispers, pulling his head down so her lips could connect with his.

It had been a week since their little makeout session and their little game. And ever since then both had been near each other at all time, whether it was to protect each other or to just make sure the other was ok. They had since moved on from the small shack and were now just wondering around the woods to get some food to eat for themselves and for Crackers.

When Annie had told Daryl what she wanted to name the horse, he had laughed at first, but agreed to it. She would have his head if he didn't anyway. But she still was very much thankful she accepted it. To be true, she had grown a bit attached to her white stallion. He was sweet and kind, but could run so fast when walkers would get on them. She had always wanted to ride a horse and now she had one of her own.

Her arms go around his neck as his go around her waist, pulling her closer. As the kiss started to deepen, they both hear a rustling in the bushes that wasn't too far from where they were standing. Annie grumbles and looks over to where it came from. "Why do they always have to ruin the god damn moment?" she says hatefully, picking up his crossbow she had laid on the side of tree.

"Cause they don't care," Daryl replies, but also was trying hard not to go ape shit at the thing that had stopped them.

Annie aims at the bushes and half expects a walker to come out, but is surprised when she sees a small bunny hop out. In fact, two. She looks at Daryl. That would be enough for them and for Crackers. He nods, and she looks at him like he's crazy. He rolls his eyes at her and gestures towards the rabbits. She sighs, shaking her head. There was no way she would be able to get them.

She points the crossbow at the animals, that were right next to each other, and aims at them through the small hole. She takes a deep breath and waits for the right moment to pull the trigger, feet apart, back straight. Just like he had taught her. She was quite the fast learner. She takes another deep breath and pulls the trigger. And ti goes flying. And lands right in the middle of the first rabbit, and from what she could see, it goes into the other one.

"I did not just land that shot!" she whispers unbelievable. "I did not just make that shot!" she repeats, going over to it. She hears Daryl chuckles behind her.

"Obviously ya did," he states, coming up next to her and picking up the now dead animal that hung on the arrow. She looks at it and cringes.

"Right through the heart," she states quietly. "Jesus," she mutters. "I didn't think I would make that. Guess I just had an amazing teacher," she says to him, giving him a sly smile. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Are ya just trying to butter me up so ya can get somethin'?" he asks. She smiles.

"Maybe later. But right now we should get back to camp. Crackers it probably just trotting around bored right now," she states, grabbing one of the rabbits and placing it in her bag. "She's gonna be hungry."

* * *

The fire blazed as Daryl cooked the last bit of the rabbit for them to eat. Annie grabs the end of one and rips it off. Then taking the big piece, she walks over to where Crackers had been tied down for the night and gives it to him. "Here you go boy," she says to him happily, and he takes it in his mouth and eats it. She could tell he was confused by the meat in his mouth. But right now she knew that the horse didn't care. It was food. And he was eating it.

She walks back over to the fire and sits next to Daryl, taking the rest of her meat and starting to nibble away at the meat. Daryl's eyes skin over her for a moment. "Ya really need to eat more," he states at her. She chuckles, rolling her eyes.

"The day I faint is the day I need to eat more. I'm still alive, aren't I? Then I'm fine," she replies. "Plus, I'm used to eating small meals. I did it a lot when I was in college. Being a dancer and all."

"So ya were into the health shit?" he asks. She laughs, shaking her head.

"No, I wasn't. I was anything but healthy half the time. But I did eat a lot less. That's why I was so skinny. And still am. People would say stuff if you were a chubby cheerleader. It just looked weird…I've already been put down my whole life for just being me, so when I finally had the opportunity to be someone different, I took it in my hands and went for it," she says quietly. "And I was. I still am. Just more of a warrior now then I was back then."

"Warrior, huh?" he replies. She nods.

"I'm stronger than I've ever been because of this world." They're both silent for a moment, enjoying just the sounds of the night around them and the trickling of the fire lights, it's shadows bouncing off the trees close by.

"A track star, huh?" he states. She laughs.

"Yeah, I was," she chuckles. "A big one. Same with volleyball. Turns out I was more than just smarter then everyone. I was a sports star too, and people wanted me." She sighs. "To be honest, I never really wanted to be that person. I wanted to just have a normal life without any orphanage to look back to. But it wasn't like that. A lot of people didn't like me because they didn't think I worked my ass off to get in, but I really did. All I did was work and read. But that never seemed to satisfy them." She shakes her head. "But it's done. They're all gone, I'm down here, and I'm enjoying it with the person I'd definitely want to be with in this world."

"What kind of person would that be?" he asks. She chuckles, leaning a bit closer to him and placing her had on his shoulder. Just being there with him made her happy.

"Oh, strong and brave…not afraid to take on someone's shit. Stubborn, but sweet. And very caring. And sexy. And a hunter who really knows how to snag a deer. And did I mention sexy?" she says to him again, looking to meet his gaze. He snickers at this.

"Yeah, ya did," he replies leaning down and capturing her lips with his. She sighs into the kiss and places her hands on his chest, feeling nothing but pleasure. But stops when a yawn escapes her mouth. She looks down, her cheeks red, while Daryl laughs. "Tired?" he asks, still chuckling slightly. She rolls her eyes.

"What do you think Sherlock?" she states. He smiles and gets up, offering his hand for her to take. She grabs it and he pulls her towards the small tent they had.

"Then let's get some sleep. Got a long day tomorrow."

* * *

Annie was up early the next morning while Daryl slept. Usually Daryl was the one always up before everyone, but Annie was an early bird, and she would always get up before everyone. Even when she was younger, she woke up before every single little kid in the orphanage and would see the sun rise. Which was slightly happened right now.

She was packing up all the shit around them that they had. The fire had gone out, but part of her rabbit was still there. She takes a small bite out of it and throws it to the forest. She didn't need to be eating anything for a while. At least until tomorrow. Unless Daryl made her eat. He had been doing that on occasions.

She was about to put away her canteen when she feels a hand go over her mouth and an arm go around her throat. "You better stay quiet or else I swear to God or death will be much more painful," she hears a woman hiss into her ear. Her eyes widen. It was Patty. "Walt, start the car up!" she yells dragging Annie towards the car. Annie struggles against her grip, trying to reach for her knife, but Patty chuckles and grabs it from her belt. "Sorry, sweetie. You can't do anything this time," she says to her.

Just before Annie is shoved in the backseat of a car, she is able to let out a scream quickly, at least enough to get Daryl's attention. "DARYL!" she screams. And Patty knocks her into the backseat before she could try that again and escape.

Daryl hears her scream and practically jumps out of his tent. Just in time to see a car drive off. "Fuck!" he swears, running over to Crackers who was trying to break free. Daryl unties him and climbs on like lightening. "Go, boy, go!" he yells at him, and Crackers takes off. He was not going to lose Annie too. He wouldn't allow it. He cared about her too much. He needed her with him. Even if he lost the track, he was not going to stop.

Crackers better move quicker.

* * *

**Reviews? :)**


	16. Tiny Pieces

**A/N: Thanks for all the awesome reviews and new followers and favorites! I love you all so much! I don't know how long this chapter will be, but I need to make it sort of quick because I'm going to be seeing Divergent soon and even though people are saying it's going to be dull I am going to LOVE it! So I hopw you guys forgive me if it might be a little short or something I'm just so gad damn excited! XD And i'm also going to incorporate a bit of the Last of Us in this chapter. I love that game :)**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**After all of the stealing and cheating****  
****You probably think that****  
****I hold resentment for you****  
****But uh uh, oh no, you're wrong****  
****'Cause if it wasn't for all****  
****That you tried to do****  
****I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through****  
****So I wanna say thank you****  
****'Cause it****  
****Makes me that much stronger****  
****Makes me work a little bit harder****  
****Makes me that much wiser****  
****So thanks for making me a fighter****  
****Made me learn a little bit faster****  
****Made my skin a little bit thicker****  
****Makes me that much smarter****  
****So thanks for making me a fighter**

_**-Fighter (Christina Aguilera)**_

* * *

Annie's eyes open groggily as she looks around where she was. Her head hurt, her legs hurt, hell, her whole god damn body hurt. She leans up a bit on her elbows and looks around. She was in a cell, somewhere. It looked like someplace you would put someone in a police station. The bars were closed, obviously, and there was nothing but the stone, cold floor beneath her.

She suddenly hears the chopping sound of something and she looks up. She sees a man standing over a table outside and realizes it was Walt. She looks closer and sees that he was chopping up meat, and when she saw the human arm fall down onto the ground, she gasps and backs up into the wall, shocked he was actually doing this. And it gets her attention.

"Jesus," she mutters. He puts the knife down on the table and walks over to her with a tray in hsihands that he picked up from the side of the table.

"How are you feeling?" he asks. She stares at him for a second before replying.

"Super," she replies sarcastically. "Where the hell am I?" she asks. He looks at her.

"Somewhere a certain someone won't find you. But for now, you're safe." She snorts at this. She wasn't safe at all with this man. She was certain he was going to kill her. "Here," he states, placing the tray at the bottom of the cell, near the gap. "You should eat. I know you're hungry-been out for quite some time." How long had she been out? She glares at him.

"What is it?" she asks.

"It's deer meat."

"With human helping's on the side?" she adds on.

"No. No, I promise…it's just deer meat." She glances down at the food and then back up at him.

"You're a fucking animal," she snarls, leaning down and taking a spoonful of meat into her mouth. Damn, she was hungry. But she still hated the asshole.

"Oh, you're awfully quick to judge. Considering you and your friend have killed how many people now?" he states. She glares at him.

"We didn't have a choice. And you tried to kill us-"

"That was Patty. She shot you. I didn't," he says, interrupting her. Ok, he didn't shoot her, but she still didn't like him at all. "And you think we have a choice? It that it? You kill to survive….and so do we. We have to take care of our own. By any means necessary." She looks up at him and leans back a bit from her tray.

"So what now? You gonna chop me up into tiny pieces?"

"I'd rather not. Can you tell me your last name?" he says. She glares at him even more. She never even had one. It was a sensitive subject. She shoves the plate out of the cell.

"You're so full of shit," she snarls at him. He sighs as he starts to clean up the tray and the mess she made.

"On the contrary, I've been, ah, quite honest with you. Now I think it's your turn. It's the only way to convince the others." She raises an eyebrow, standing up in the cell.

"Convince them of what," she says, placing her hands on the cell. He walks over to her.

"That you can come around. You have a heart. You're loyal. And you're special." He places his hands on hers and starts to run them up her arms. And she wanted to break his little neck right there. She knew what this was about. But she needed to play dumb.

"Oh…" she states, staring at him. She places her hand on his for a second, before pulling it back into his hand. He lets out a screech as a sickening yell echoes throughout place, and she reaches her hand out to grab the keys that were hanging on his belt, but before she could fully grab them when they fell to the ground, he grabs her arm and rams her into the bars several times before throwing her to the ground. She lets out an 'oof' as she lands on the ground, and Walt begins a stream of curses.

"Oh, fuck…" she whispers, getting up and touching her face. She pulls her hand back and sees blood all on her finger. Brilliant.

"You stupid, little girl. You are making it very difficult to keep you alive. What am I supposed to tell the others now?" he snarls at her, cradling his finger. A sudden thought crosses her mind.

"Dixon," she says. He looks at her.

"What?"

"Tell them…that Annie Dixon is the one who broke your FUCKING FINGER," she yells at him. He looks back at his finger and then back at her.

"How did you put it? Hmm? Tiny pieces?" he states, and she still glares at him. "See you later, Dixon," he states, walking out of the room. She leans back against the wall and lets out a defeated sigh. She was hurt, bleeding, and completely lost from Daryl. She didn't even know if he was looking for her now. She was probably just a liability half the time to him, even if they had something small going on. But all she knew was that she needed to get out somehow. She needed to kill both of them.

She glances down at her arm and sighs as she sees the starting to fade bite mark. A week ago she had been bitten. No, not by a walker, but by a dog. A very, very ferocious dog. But the bite made it look like a walker bite. It was weird.

She had an idea.

* * *

Daryl was still looking. He was off Crackers now. The horse was far off somewhere. He knew after running so much the horse needed a break, but Daryl didn't. He wouldn't stop looking for her. He couldn't stop. She wasn't just some person that needed to be found. He needed her to be ok. He needed her to be alive. And thank the Lord that it had rained earlier that day. There were clear as day tracks in the muddy road where the car had driven off.

He didn't know how to feel right now. What he really wanted to do was murder Walt and Patty viciously, take Annie back to their camp and get far away from it so no one else would find them, and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. That was probably what he was going to do when he did find her. But right now, he needed to just focus on the tracks and find her.

He suddenly hears something behind him and turns around, and is surprised to find that Crackers was right behind him. He had been following him.

"What the hell are ya doing here, horse?" he says to him. Crackers neighs in response. Daryl stares at the animal. Even if the horse couldn't talk, he knew he was trying to say something. Something along the lines of 'Annie is mine too, not just yours. She saved me. And I'll keep going even if it hurts.' He walks over and climbs on the horses back. "Let's go," he simply states, and Crackers takes off. They would find her.

* * *

Annie was passed out. She was passed the fuck out. She didn't know whether it had been the blood loss, the bite on her arm that still hurt her, or just plain exhaustion, but she was passed out. And she was so rudely woken up by two people.

"Wakey, wakey. Come on, girl," she hears a woman say as she pulls her up. She struggles.

"Let go!" she screams.

"Just-"

"Stop," she growls. She leans down and bites Walt's fingers, knowing it was him, but only receives a knee to the stomach. She falls down in pain and the two people drag her onto the table, holding her down with both hands. She continues to struggle. Then Walt raises a knife and she needed to get into her idea fast.

"I warned you," he says, just before he almost slinks his machete into her head.

"I'm infected!" she screams, stopping his actions. "I'm infected," she repeats.

"Really?" he asks.

"…and so are you. Right there. Roll up my sleeve. Look at it!" He looks at her sleeve and then plants the machete into the table, nearly inches from her head.

"I'll play along," he states, rolling it up. He sees the wound and believes it to be a bite, and grows quiet.

"What'd you say at the farm?" she says quietly. "Everything happens for a reason, right?" Patty starts to panic.

"What the hell is that?" she states.

"She would have turned by now. This can't be real," he states.

"Looks pretty fucking real to me!" she replies. Annie quickly takes the machete and cuts it into Patty's neck, sending her to the ground in a heap, and rolls of the table, running for the door. Walt fires a few rounds but misses her. She goes to the other side and hides on the wall, looking to her right. There was a switchblade. She quickly grabs it and heads towards the outside.

"Ok, shit. Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with this man?" she states quietly, running into a nearby restaurant that was right across town. She hears his voice behind her.

"Where you going, Annie? This is my town!" he yells. She runs into the building and hides behind the door. Moments later it burst open and he grabs her in a headlock. She tries to break free. "You're easy to track." She stabs her knife into her leg and he lets her go for a brief moment, giving her the advantage to run off into the building. He chuckles behind her.

"Asshole," she mumbles, hiding behind a booth.

"That's alright. There's no where to go! You went out! You're gonna have to come and get me. I know you're not infected. No one who's infected fights this hard to stay alive. So what is it, Annie? I gotta admit, you had me back there. For a second, you shook my faith. But only for a second. Oh, hey, Annie. I'm sorry about taking you from your hick. I truly am. I hope you can take comfort that when we find him we wont waste any part of him." She cringes.

"Aw, you fuck," she growls under her breath. She wouldn't let him get to Daryl. She moves to another stall as she sees him come closer.

"I…I wish you didn't kill Patty. She was a good woman…just doing her job. In fact, all the people you killed…it's just going to made some of the people stronger. Fewer mouths to feed. Stronger survivors. Annie! Annie come on out. I know you want to say something to me."

"Creepy piece of shit," she whispers, turning another way to avoid his eyesight.

"No? Nothin'? Sure about that? Alright then." She runs up to him and stabs him in the neck, and his point blank shot misses. But she still didn't kill him. She runs off but trips on something, scrambling to the ground. "That was good, kid. It's gonna be alright." He puts his gun away and pulls out his machete. "You know, you keep surprising me. It's a shame you wouldn't come around. Give it up now and I promise it'll be quick. Promise."

"Go fuck yourself!" she says, scrambling up.

"Okay then. Don't say I didn't give you a chance. You know, I love how you think that you're better than this. Better than me. But you're not."

"You crazy fuck," she says hiding behind a counter.

"It didn't have to be this way, you know. You brought this on yourself. When you killed Corey? Yeah, you did." She frowns at Corey. She knew it was bad. But it had been her only way out. This guy was just plain fucking crazy.

She sneaks up and this time stabs him in the stomach, then runs off. He chuckles lightly, holding the area she stabbed. "Run, little rabbit, run," he states. She goes up behind him and stabs him again, but knocks her to the floor, unconscious, but not before he slumps over as well. But it didn't last for long.

Only for a few minutes was she out. She opens her eyes and finally feels the pain all in her body. She looks over and sees that her knife was underneath a chair, far away from her. It had been knocked away. She leans up and crawls over slowly, trying to ignore the pain in her body, but is then kicked to the ground, hard. He was up.

"I knew you had heart. Y'know, it's ok to give up. Ain't no shame in it," he says. She continues to crawl, despite the terrible feeling in her body. "I guess not. Just not your style, is it?" He kicks her again, and then crawls on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She feels his face lean in slightly and she struggles against his grip. "You can try beggin'." She glares up at him.

"Fuck you." His look changes to one of pure hatred and anger. His hands travel up and start to try and choke her.

"You think you know me? Huh? Well, let me tell you somethin'. You have no idea what I'm capable of!" he replies. She reaches her hand out slowly so he wouldn't notice and grabs her knife. She slashes him quickly, surprising him, and then knocks him over and climbs on top of him, stabbing his head again and again and again. Just like she had down with Corey.

Except this time it was more vicious. It was more hateful. She let out angry and pitiful screams as she did so. Blood splattered on her face. But she didn't care. It was already covered in crusted over blood. And that's why she didn't hear the person run into the shop when he heard her screams.

"Annie!" he says, seeing her stab the shit out of someone below her. His guess was Walt. He runs over and takes her off. "Annie, stop. Stop." She stuggles against his grip.

"Don't fucking touch me!" she screams, trying to break free, but he holds her against him to prevent her from running off.

"Shh, shh," he says, but she tries to go again.

"No-"

"Annie, it's me. It's ok. It's me. Look, look," he says, turning her around to face him. Annie looks at the man and never felt more relieved and thankful then to see Daryl in front of her, holding her, seeing her alive. She feels tears threaten to fall down her face. "It's me," he repeats.

"He tried to…" she starts, but breaks down. He embraces her and hold her close.

"Oh, baby…It's okay, it's okay," he repats soothingly to her as she cries into him.

"Daryl…" she whimpers.

"It's okay now," he says, tilting her head up to look at him. He had wanted to kill the two bastards, but looks like she had beaten him to it. Her face was covered in blood and cuts. He takes his face in her hands and she closes her eyes. "Let's get out of here," he says, and she nods. He takes her hand and helps her up, then throws an arm around her to help her out of the restaurant, while she leans into him as he helped her get out. She didn't care if she was going to be in pain for the next year. She was with him. She was safe in his arms. She takes one last glance back at the knife stabbed in Walt's head and sighs. She had survived.

* * *

**Reviews? :)**


	17. It's Not Your Fault

**A/N: Omg Divergent was awesome! I loved it a lot more then I thought I would! I don't see why poepl are giving it bad reviews! It's actually a good movie! Nothing like hunger games, but it's still very good! And thanks for the new followers and reviews and favorites! I love them and they keep me motivated to keep writing the story! Knowing people like it! On with the story! And also there's some smut in this chapter so you've been warned ;)**

* * *

**Baby, can't you see? I'm callin'  
A guy like you should wear a warnin'  
It's dangerous  
I'm fallin'**

**There's no escape, I can't wait  
I need a hit, baby, give me it  
You're dangerous  
I'm lovin' it**

**Too high, can't come down  
Losing my head  
Spinning 'round and 'round  
Do you feel me now?**

**With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride  
You're toxic, I'm slippin' under  
With a taste of a poison paradise  
I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic? **

**-**_**Toxic (Britney Spears)**_

* * *

Annie limped next to Daryl as they made their way back to wherever they were going. She felt like all her limbs were being stabbed by a million knives a second every single time she moved. Her eyes would begin to droop every once and a while, but she would keep them open so Daryl wouldn't be forced to carry her like he had done plenty of times now. She had just been found and she didn't want to put any more stress on him.

"Where's Crackers?" she asks quietly-well more or less choked out.

"Not that far," he states. She nods weakly and keeps walking. Daryl looks down and sees how she was practically a walker right now, basically dead and just trying to stay up. He felt his blood boil thinking at what Walt was going to do. She had done a good job is stabbing him. He stops.

"What are we-" He stops her.

"Ya need to sleep. Ya look like ya are going to pass out on the ground." She shakes her head at him, and he admired her persistence in trying to stay up. But he knew she couldn't stay up for much longer.

"No, I can make it-"

"Annie, this isn't up for debate. Ya are going to shut that mouth and close yer eyes and go to sleep. I'll carry ya," She shakes her head again.

"Daryl I can-" She doesn't finish as he cuts her off by lifting her up in his arms bridal style. Holding her against his chest. Her eyes widen. "Daryl!" she says softly yet fiercely.

"Sleep," he says again, ignoring her protests in trying to get her on the ground. She glances up at him and sighs. Ok, she was defeated. She closes her eyes and lets herself fall asleep in his arms. If he wouldn't let her down she might as well make the best of it. And when she finally did fall asleep, she knew she would be thankful for him not backing down.

* * *

Annie's eyes opened to a couch in what looked like a small house. She leans up a bit and automatically regrets it. Her headache was kicking back in from when she was imprisoned. She leans back down on the couch a bit but was elevated enough to not be completely on the couch. She glances around and sees that Daryl wasn't there and starts to panic.

"Daryl?" she tries to yell but it comes out weak. Damn, she really was that weak. She hears something in the kitchen and tries to grab for her knife, but visibly relaxes when she sees Daryl walk out with a water bottle in his hand. He stops when he sees her up.

"Yer awake," he says walking over to her. She leans back on her couch as he kneels down on the floor to get to her eye level.

"Where are we?" she asks quietly, looking around again. But stops when she feels Daryl's hand on her chin, pulling her head back to look at him. She stares at him for a second. "What?" she asks when his hands move off her face.

"Gotta clean all the blood off," he murmurs, taking a cloth out of his pocket and dousing it with water. She reaches up and touches her face, feeling the crusted over dried up blood on her face. He moves her hand and starts to gently wipe the blood of her face, and she sees it rub off her face.

"Where's Crackers?" she asks, letting him clean her up. She didn't know why, but at that moment she actually felt relaxed. After everything that had happened, even since the beginning of this, she felt utterly at peace, letting Daryl take care of her like she was an injured child. Granted, she was beaten to the core from these people, but the way he touched her with some much gentleness made her heart swoon and left her mind at ease.

"Outside tied up. Too small of a space to bring him in here. But he's safe." She nods weakly as he wipes a bit of blood out from under her eyes.

"Where are we? How long have I been out?" she asks. He places more water on the cloth and continues to scrub away.

"In a small house I found in the forest. Been out for about a day." Her eyes widen for a moment.

"A day?" she asks incredulously. "And you didn't wake me up?" He chuckles a bit at her reaction.

"Ya needed to gain back a bit of strength. Ya were practically a walker before ya passed out." She shuts her mouth and looks down at her body quickly. She was hurt. She could still see the damage from everything. She thought for a second.

"Walt said there were others," she states suddenly. Daryl makes eye contact with her, still wiping the blood off her face.

"What do ya mean?" he asks. She starts to panic for a second.

"He said there were others beside him and Patty. Now that they're killed, the others will find them and know I killed them and they'll come after me. Oh shit, Joel's still alive! He's going to find them and then he's going to get me. God, they're gonna kill me!" she panics, trying to get up, but Daryl pushes her back down.

"Annie, calm the hell down," he states at her. She swallows her heart and stares at him. "I'm not gonna let anyone take ya. I know I fucked up before-"

"You didn't fuck up. You were asleep," she says softly. He shakes his head.

"I still should have heard. But I ain't gonna let anything happen to ya. Especially some cannibalistic asshole. Ya ain't gonna be taken away from me again," he says again, placing his hand on her cheek. She stares at him for a second before nodding. He places the water bottle to her mouth and tilts her head back a bit. "Drink," he says. She opens her mouth and lets the water fall in. She swallows it gratefully and puts the water bottle down next to her.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened-"

"I have every right in the world to blame myself," he says back to her. "I should have seen it coming. I should have protected ya more. And look what happened because of it. Ya nearly got killed because of me not lookin' after ya," he continues. She takes his hand in hers.

"This isn't your fault. I should have been more aware of what was around me-"He shakes his head at her again.

" It's still-" She cuts him off by placing her lips on him, effectively silencing him on any rant that was about to ensue. He replies moving his hands up to her face, cupping her cheeks. When she pulls back, she places one of her hands over his and leans her forehead against his own.

"This isn't your fault. Stop making it seem like it is. I'm still alive and standing. My hearts still beating, isn't it? I'm still breathing, aren't I?" she asks. He nods slowly. "Then stop worrying and let things be. We're survivors, and we're still alive. And we will stay that way. No one will change that. Not even some cannibalistic bastard," she says, using his words, and he chuckles slightly at this. "Nothing's gonna separate us. We're in this together." He makes eye contact with her and sees so much sincerity and love in her eyes that he could die a happy man right there and then, just knowing that she looked at him like that. "So stop thinking all of that and just kiss me," she states, pulling his head back in.

He chuckles at her persistence and kisses her back hungrily. She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer to her while his arms go around her waist. She gently starts to pull him on top of her as their kissing gets more and more passionate, his tongue sneaking inside her mouth as they fought for dominance.

Her hands start to roam under his shirt and feel his toned stomach, running them up and down his chest. 'Jesus, he's fit,' she thinks. Well, she wasn't expecting any less. It was the god damn apocalypse. You kind of had to stay fit in order to stay alive. But it still turned her on even more just touching him.

His hands travel under her shirt and removes it from her body, throwing it to the side as she giggles. That's when he truly sees all the scars on her body. Some fresh, from Walt and his group, some remotely new, that seemed to be from the beginning of all of this, and some old, the ones she would talk about from the orphanage. She really was just as damaged as he was. He growls slightly at them and she lifts up her head to face hers. She kisses him sweetly.

"It's in the past," she says against his lips. He nods and kisses her harder. If he ever found who did some of those to her, their head would be served on a silver platter. She moves her hands to the hem of his shirt and lifts it off his body. She sees the scars on his chest but doesn't comment on them, knowing that it was a sensitive subject for him to talk about.

His mouth disconnects from hers and starts a trail down her neck, to which she moans in pleasure. He does the same bite mark he did back when they had been drinking. Jesus, was that a week ago? How long had it been? She didn't know. All she knew was that she felt nothing but his lips and his tongue working his way on her body at the moment. Making her feel like she was fucking flying.

Their mouths meet again as his lips find the back of her bra and unclip it, throwing that to the side as well. She smiles against his mouth as he cups her breasts and squeezes them slightly, causing her to groan in pleasure. His lips travel down to her breasts as he started to feel them up, sucking and kissing on them as he reached them. She moans silently, trying hard to keep them down since a walker could easily pop up out of nowhere and stop their fun if she was too loud.

Her hands were running up and down the scars on his back. She was touching them so lovingly that it made him forget his pain and his shame on them and the echo of his brother's voice saying 'No one's ever gonna love ya, baby brother, except me.'

Fuck him.

Her hands move down to his belt and she looks him straight in the eye. "Need…you now," she states breathlessly pulling his lips to meet hers again.

"Are ya sure?" he asks huskily. He knew this would be her first time and he needed to make sure she wasn't going to make a huge mistake letting him do this. But she simply kisses him harder.

"Positive," she moans, unbuckling his belt and letting him shimmy his pants down while taking hers off as well, her underwear coming down as well. When she sees exactly what she was getting herself into, she was pleasantly surprised. She always thought he would be bigger than the average, but he was _huge. _

He kisses her one more time before placing the head of his dick at her quite wet opening. "Ya ready for me baby?" he says, kissing her deeply. She replies with a low moan of her own. When he enters her finally, she shudders at his thick length and the slight pain she felt, but it was nothing at all. She had masturbated enough in the past to know what this would feel like. And she was quite happy it felt better then she thought it would.

Jesus, she was tight. She was so fucking tight that it drove him crazy. He wasn't even moving yet and he could already tell that this wouldn't be long. She just felt too damn good. "Ya ok?" he asks lowly. She bites her lips and leans up to his ear.

"Fuck me hard, Daryl," she whispers. Yup. That was it. His control was out the fucking window now. He groans at her voice and slams into her, causing her to moan out in pleasure again. He pulls out slowly, just to slam into her again, and again. He develops a rhythm as she moans out his name. When she felt something building, she wraps her legs around him and pulls him deeper inside her, if that was possible. His lips were on hers, swallowing her moans as they got louder. "Oh Jesus…fuck, Daryl…so fucking good," she moans against his lips.

She feels herself let go completely, letting out a deafening moan as she climaxed to her ultimate peak of pleasure. And not a moment later, she felt him lose all control and explodes inside her, moaning her name as it happened.

He gently falls next to her and kisses her deeply again, running his fingers up the side of her body. She smiles again and pulls back to look at him. "That was amazing," she says. To be honest, he didn't have any words for the amount of pleasure he just felt. No woman he had been with in the past had made him feel like he did at that moment. Even after sex, unlike more woman, she still looked like a god damn angel. Her hair was all spread out on the couch pillow, and her face looked tired, but very happy.

"Ya are so beautiful," he murmurs to her, kissing her again while running his hands through her wavy dark brown hair. She smiles small at him. "Perfect," he adds on when he pulls back. She chuckles.

"I'm far from it," she says. He shakes his head.

"No, ya are perfect," he states. She rolls her eyes.

"Why do you have to fight me on everything?" she asks, chuckling a bit to herself.

"Because I'm always right, and I'm right about this," he says. She smiles at him and places a sweet kiss on his lip.

"You are so sweet," she mumbles, running a hand through his messy hair. She looks at his blue eyes and sees that they were being blocked by his massive amount of hair in front of them. "You need a haircut," she says quietly, snickering at his messiness. He offers her a small grin at her. He takes her in his arms as he sees her yawn.

"Sleep. We'll leave this place in the morning," he states. She furrows her brow.

"What about Crackers?" she asks. He rolls his eyes. Even after what they had just done she was still worried about the god damn horse. She really did have a heart of gold.

"I fed him. No need to worry about him," he replies. "Now sleep." She smiles and nuzzles closer into his chest, falling asleep with his arms around her.

Daryl had never been the cuddling type. He usually just got up and left half the time in the morning. But Annie was special. He felt like she fitted perfectly with him. He feels her body go limp as it did during their first night they had been together. God, they had come quite far since then. And now look at them. He smiles a bit and places a kiss on the tip of her head and then lays his head next to hers, nuzzling her neck slightly.

The last thought that went through his head was that there was no way he was letting anyone get to her. He would protect her with every fiber in being to keep her alive. He wasn't going to get her taken again, especially by the people who did this to her. They would have to kill him first if they ever wanted to touch her.

* * *

**Review!** :)


	18. Two Girls

**A/N: thank you so much for the new reviews and follows and favorites! It means so much to me! And I'm glad you enjoyed to last chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! It was my first time really writing anything like that without giggling like a fucking school girl throughout the whole entire thing. XD Don't judge me XD on with the story!**

* * *

**Hold on, to me as we go  
As we roll down this unfamiliar road  
And although this wave is stringing us along  
Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home**

**Settle down, it'll all be clear  
Don't pay no mind to the demons  
They fill you with fear  
The trouble it might drag you down  
If you get lost, you can always be found**

**Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home **

**-**_**Home (Phillip Phillips)**_

* * *

Bright sunlight shined down on Annie as she walked through the forest, making her way carefully along the floor as not to trip over anything. There were literally so many stick and roots sticking out of the ground that she felt like at any moment they could somehow come to life and grab her ankles, making her fall face flat on the hard forest floor. Or maybe she was just paranoid. Yeah, she was most definitely paranoid.

She looks around and the hundreds of birds on the treetops, some staring down at her and Daryl, some tweeting and whistling to each other to communicate, or some just flying off to wherever they were meant to go. Annie had always loved to look at birds. When she was younger, she had wished she was a bird. A small one. So no one would see her go. So she could fly far, far, away from the orphanage that her been her shelter for eighteen years of her life. And she guessed that did happen when she went to college and finally escaped, but it didn't really feel the same unless she was factually flying away.

It had been two weeks since Daryl had found her and since their special night. Ever since then, something had changed in their relationship. They had become closer, and their bond was stronger now more than ever. They were always around each other and protecting each other. And it was something Annie loved. Even though half the time she didn't need to be protected, she felt like she was loved by him by how much he protected her.

She glances at Daryl who was steadily looking at the ground, tracking whatever animal he had seen earlier. She loved watching him track, him looking so intense in every step he took. He was so serious about it, and she loved it.

"What exactly are we tracking, Daryl?" she asks quietly, looking around.

"Deer," he states quickly. He stops moving and puts an arm out to stop her. She looks around and he points in front of them. There was the deer they were looking for. How the hell did he find these animals so easily when it used to take her hours to find something as small as a raccoon. "Ya want to try and get this one?" he asks, turning to her. She looks at the deer and sighs. Might as well.

"Sure," she says, taking out her knife from her belt. She aims at the deer head but apparently her aim was a bit off because Daryl places his hand on hers and moves it down slightly.

"Ya gotta change yer position," he says, moving her feet a bit more apart so she could get a better view. She keeps the knife in place, but she rolls her eyes slightly.

"I can't concentrate when you're this close to me," she says to him quietly, so not to disturb the eating deer. She feels him chuckles beside her.

"Just throw the knife, woman," he says. She chuckles as well and holds the knife more firmly, staring at the deer, before throwing it and letting it fly. Not a second later, it plants deep into the deer's head, and it falls over to the ground in a heap. Daryl smiles. She was getting good. "Nice job, Annie," he states walking over.

She smiles. "I'm doing fantastic, aren't I?" she states a bit cockily. He snorts.

"Ya ain't there yet, girl. Still got a lot of practice. But ya know how to throw. That's at least a good start," he states, bending down to start skinning the deer. She comes over and pulls out another knife to help him.

"Have you been skinning these all your life?" she asks, starting to cut through the animal. He nods weakly.

"Yeah. Pretty much," he replies. "Hey, I've been wanting to ask. What was all that jibberish ya were saying when I found ya?" he asks. She furrows her brow, but then laughs when she realizes what he was talking about.

"You mean the Spanish?" she asks, chuckling to herself. He nods. "It meant 'fucking idiot.' Said to that asshole." She moves the skin to the side and grimaces at it. "Since I'm so good at speaking Spanish, I've come to the conclusion that I had Spanish parents. Jesus, this smell so bad," she says, pinching her nose and stepping away slightly. He chuckles at her.

"But tastes very good when it's all nice and cooked." She shakes her head.

"Still," she groans out. He starts to mess around by picking up a piece of skin and waving it in her face, like a twelve year old kid would wave a bug in a little girls face. She jumps back and turns her head away from the skin. "Daryl!" she yells at him, trying to get away from him, but he kept waving it in her face.

"Ain't that bad," he jokes around, laughing at her disgusted face.

"No-No, Daryl!" she yells as he practically jumps on her. She lets out a squeal as she falls back on the ground, him on top of her. He pins her hands down to the ground and she looks up at him. "Really, Daryl?" she chuckles. He shrugs his shoulders. "Did you just want to get me in this position?" she asks slyly.

"Maybe," he replies, leaning down and capturing her lips with his. She smiles against his lips and breaks her hands free of his and wraps them around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He wasn't lying completely on top of her, but he was definitely very close to her. She pulls back and smiles at him, her breathing slightly short.

"We need to find somewhere to stay for the night. Sun's starting to go down," she says, gesturing her head to the setting sun in the distance. He sighs and gets off. "Hey, we can do whatever we want when we find somewhere. Just need to find it quick enough," she whispers in his ear. She feels him shover slightly at her touch.

"Then we better get movin'," he states lowly, leaning in and pecking her lips once more before helping her up onto her feet. She takes his hand and leans down, picking up the meat.

"Where did that piece of skin go?" she asks, looking around. He shakes his head.

"No clue. Lost it when I started to kiss ya," he replies, starting to walk. She laughs and follows him behind to wherever they could go for the night. She whistles in the distance.

"Let's go, Crackers!" she yells. The horse come blazing up to them and stops by her side. He had been out looking for something for him to eat. She smiles at him. "Good boy."

* * *

Annie looks through the trees and searches for any house that she and Daryl could take for the night. But so far she hadn't had any luck in finding someplace to stay. Daryl was looking as well. But every corner they looked in there seemed to be nothing.

"Looks like were unlucky tonight," he says, stopping to take a quick drink of water. She shakes her head.

"There has to be some place around here," she mumbles, placing her hand on her head to look farther into the distance. And slowly, she could make a small building. Very small from where she was standing. But it was still something. It was yards away, but obviously they could make it. "Daryl, there's something down there," she says, pointing over. He looks in her direction.

"Where? I don't see anything," he says. She rolls her eyes and moves his head with her hands to look in the exact direction she was looking in. "Oh," he states dumbly when he sees it. She chuckles.

"Yeah, 'oh,'" she mocks, grabbing his hand. "Let's head over," she states, pulling him towards the small house. When they get closer and closer, she could see that the forest started to lessen down. There were few and fewer trees. When they were close enough, the trees seemed to stop and all there was was bright green grass and the house. She looks closer and realizes the house wasn't that small. It was actually two stories, and was quite bit in size. She lets go of Daryl's hand and looks around the house going to the front. She smiles when she sees a huge field in front, and trees in the distance. There was just this random house that was in a field-or something like a grove- and then the forest continued on at the other side.

She spread her arms out and groans in pleasure. "Look at this place!" she says to Daryl and Crackers, who gallops up into the field behind her. "It's so huge!" she says, going back to the house. Crackers bellows up behind her. "Let's tie you up, Crackers," she states, using her rope and tying him to a tree.

"Let's just see if the place is secure before we get too comfortable," he says, waiting for her to get to porch before going in. When she gets up, she takes out her knife and opens the door slowly, but finds that there were no walkers inside when she did. She walks in slowly and looks around. There was a kitchen to her right, and next to it was a small dining room. To the left with a living room, but on the floor she noticed there was a small doll on the ground, which had blonde hair and was plastic. A Barbie.

"There are people here," she says to him. He raises an eyebrow at her. She gestures to the doll on the ground. "Someone's been playing in here," she states. He rolls his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure they're gone now," he states, going to look in the kitchen. She starts to talk back when she hears the clatter of something upstairs. They make eye contact and she smirks at him.

"They're gone, are they?" she mocks, going up the stairs quickly. He follows behind her as she races up, trying to keep up with her fast legs.

"Annie would ya slow down?" he grumbles at her when she reaches the top. She smiles down at him.

"What? You can't keep up?" she asks, walking over to the first door she saw. She opens up and sees a queen sized bed inside, and she smiles again. "Well, look what we can put to good use," she states, looking at him, winking an eye at him. He smirks.

"First, let's find whatever made that sound," he replies, walking back out the hallway and to the end of it, opening one of the other doors. She follows him out and opens the door across. "Nothin' in here," he says to her. She steps inside her room and sees two small beds that were not made, a closet in the wall, dressers that were open, and toys strewn all over the floor. She furrows her brow and walks over to the closet on the wall, having her knife out at all times to make sure nothing would pop out. She places her hand on the knob and pulls back the door slowly. She looks up at the clothes handing, and then down. And she nearly drops dead when she sees what was there.

Two little girls. One with brown wavy hair with blue eyes, and one with dark brown hair with green eyes. Wavy hair was little, only seemed to be about three or four, and she was looking at Annie was panic in her eyes, while dark brown was holding the little girl in her arms and pointing a gun at Annie. She seemed about six or seven. Annie holds up her hands.

"Whoa, I'm not going to hurt you," she states, placing her knife on the ground. "See? Harmless," she says. The little girl looks at her a bit less panicked now, but was still scared. "Who are you?" she asks quietly.

"I'm Hallie," the little girl says. The older girl places her gun down and sighs.

"I'm Kelly," she says. "We're sisters." Annie nods and leans down to their eye level.

"How long have you two been alone?" she asks.

"Two months," Kelly says. "Our parents were killed by bad people." Annie felt her heart break. Two little girls shouldn't be alone in a world like this.

"Who was it?" Annie hears behind her. She sees Daryl come in and he looks at the two little girls with interest. "What were there names?" he asks again.

"One was named Pa..Patty?" Hallie says unsure. Kelly nods weakly.

"Yeah, Patty and Walt. They were going to eat us if we didn't get out." Annie felt her blood boil. Not only had they almost taken her, they had killed these little girl's parents as well. In fact, now that she thought about it, the night she had almost eaten the meat…maybe it wasn't just Mark. Maybe it was these girls parents as well. Jesus, she almost threw up the small remains in her stomach.

"Well, don't worry, they won' t come for you now," Annie says. "They're gone," she adds on. Kelly looks up with a small patch of hope in her eyes.

"Really?" she asks a bit joyfully. Annie nods, a small smile on her face.

"Yes, they are. We've met them. They're bad people. But they're gone."

"Is there anyone taking care of ya?" Daryl asks, leaning down next to Annie. She smiles at him for a second and looks back to the girls. Kelly shakes her head, while Hallie looks at the two in wonder.

"No. We haven't had anyone with us."

"So you've been surviving on what?" Annie asks.

"Food we've found outside. Random bugs." Annie cringes slightly at that. These girls hadn't had a real meal in forever.

"Jesus," she hears Daryl mumble beside her. She looks down and thinks for a moment before looking back up at the two girls.

"How would you like some real meat for a change? We have some downstairs," she says. It was true. There was plenty for them to eat as well. Kelly looks at her skeptically.

"Is it human?" she asks. Annie shakes her head.

"Deer. I swear." Kelly and Hallie look at each other before nodding gratefully. Annie smiles at them. "I'm Annie, and this is Daryl. How old are you?" she asks.

"I'm seven," Kelly says. "And Hallie's four." Hallie smiles at them and gets up, but Kelly cringes trying to stand. Annie frowns.

"What's wrong?"she asks. Kelly shakes her head.

"Nothing, just hurt my ankle a few hours earlier," she says, trying to walk, but leaning against the wall for support. "I can walk," she says suddenly. Daryl and Annie share a glance of disbelief and Annie gestures towards her ankle. Daryl nods and goes to the floor to lift up her jean leg. "I said I'm-"

"Just let him look, Kelly. He knows what he's doing." Kelly looks at her for a second in panic and then takes a deep breath before leaning against the wall and letting him look. Daryl snorts at the ankle and shakes his head.

"Ya ankle ain't just hurt. It's sprained. Swollen up. Ya need to get that fixed up," he says. Annie looks at Kelly with an 'I-told-you-so-look,' and she rolls her eyes.

"Ok, you were right," she mumbles. Hallie comes to her side and takes her hand.

"Can you fix it?" she says to Daryl. He nods.

"Yeah. Can't make it perfect. But I can make it so ya can at least limp on it," he replies. Hallie nods and starts to lead Kelly to the door where Annie was.

"We can fix it downstairs. Let's get you guys something to eat first though," she says, placing an arm around the girls shoulders as she helped them down the stairs.

* * *

Hallie looks at Annie while she cooks the deer over the stove on the small pan. She was nice. Not like some of the other people she had found in the world lately. And she was making them a real dinner. She hadn't had real food in ages.

"How did you get that?" she asks. Annie looks at the young girl and smiles.

"Daryl got it and we skinned it up. Hunted it down. And now we have it for dinner." Hallie nods and looks down at the table.

"My mother used to make stuff like that," she says quietly. Annie places the pan down and goes over to the small girl, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I'm sure she's watching you happily from heaven," she says, caressing the girls hair. Hallie looks up and shakes her head.

"Mother liked us, but she never took care of us. She didn't make things like this usually. It was rare. She was always outside with another guy then with my father. He didn't like us. And when he would touch us she would step in front, even if she was already hurt." Annie felt her heart break even more listening to the little girl's tale. Their father beat them and they were just little girls. No wonder Kelly had been so protective over her little sister.

"Well, your father is gone and I'm sure your mother loved you. But it's time to move on from the past and live on. And don't worry. Nothing's going to hurt you anymore." Hallie looks up and smiles at her, but drops when she hears a horses neigh outside, and then comes right back on.

"You have a horsie!" she screams gleefully. "I've always wanted to pet one!" she says. Annie chuckles at the small girls excitement.

"Want to see it?" she asks. 'I'm about to feed him." Hallie nods rapidly.

"Yes!" she says. Annie chuckles and takes a piece of meat on a plate.

"Then let's go," Annie says, walking out the back door to get to Crackers. Hallie follows her happily. When she sees the white horse her smile increases even more. Crackers neighs at seeing his owner. Annie looks at the younger girl with a smile. "This is Crackers."

"Hi, Crackers," she says quietly. Crackers neighs at her and she giggles. Annie leans down to her eye level.

"Want to feed him?" she asks. Hallie nods and Annie takes her up in her arms, then places a bit of deer in her hands. "Just hold it out and he'll take it," she says quietly. Hallie holds out the piece of meat to Crackers and he nibbles it from her hand. Hallie giggles.

"He's cute," she says. Annie smiles.

"You can pet him," she says. Hallie's eye light up and she reaches her hand out tenderly to pat the horses head.

"He's so fluffy," she states, causing Annie to laugh.

Meanwhile in the house Kelly was letting Daryl fix up her ankle. She watches him work silently, asking a few questions every now and then. Her thoughts travel to Annie outside. "How long have you two been together?" she asks suddenly. Daryl looks up at her for a second before looking back down at her ankle.

"About a few months," he replies. She shakes her head.

"No, like….been together as a couple." Daryl chuckles at the girl.

"That obvious, huh?" he asks. She nods.

"A little," she replies. He finishes applying some medicine to the small cut that was on her ankle and begins to wrap it up in bandages.

"Been about a month, I guess," he states. He didn't know how long it really had been. All he knew was that when he was with Annie he was happier than he had been in the past two years. But in time span he knew it had been about a month. Maybe two.

"You guys look nice," she says. "Cute couple." Daryl shakes his head at the girl. "It's a compliment. Accept it." He looks up at her saying those words. She sounded so much like Annie in that one statement. He smiles small at the young girl.

"I know," he replies, finishing up the bandage on her ankle. She nods, seeing him finish up the bandage. "Move it around a little." She does as she is told and rotates her ankle. "Better?" he asks. She nods, smiling up at him.

"Better ," she replies, standing up. It was a lot easier to stand up now. She sighs. "I don't get it," she mumbles under her breath, but Daryl hears.

"What don't ya get?" he asks. She sighs and shakes her head.

"How…strangers can be so much nicer then my actually parents," she says, looking up at him. He furrows his brow at her.

"What do ya mean?" he asks, even though he had a pretty good idea what she was talking about.

"My father wasn't nice," she mumbles, looking away. "He…did stuff to my mother and I. A little to Hallie, too," she adds on. He felt his blood boil at that. Looks like these girls had a past similar to his own. He walks forward and places a hand on her shoulder. She looks at him.

"Well, there ain't nothin' gonna happen to ya now," he says. "As long as Annie and I are around." She stares at him.

"So you're not going to leave us?" she asks. He shakes his head.

"No, we aren't," he says. She smiles and nods, happy. He hears giggling outside and looks out the window to find Annie with Hallie petting Crackers. "Let's head out. Looks like Annie introduced to horse to Hallie." Kelly's eyes widen in glee.

"You have a horse?!"

* * *

**Reviews?! :) Luv ya 3**


	19. Close Encounter

**Thanks you so much for all the new followers, favorites and reviews! They really mean a lot to me as a writer! I'm really enjoying writing this story and can't wait to incorporate the little girls storyline into this story. And I watched the walking dead episode tonight and I literally wanted to smack the shit out of that stupid group Daryl is with. Jesus, what's with all this claiming bullshit? Are we in fucking middle school? No, we are not. I don't understand this show sometimes. It just confuses the fuck out of me. XD Now, on with the story!**

* * *

**Hush, just stop  
There's nothing you can do or say, baby  
I've had enough  
I'm not your property as from today, baby  
You might think that I won't make it on my own  
But now I'm**

**Stronger, than yesterday  
Now it's nothing but my way  
My loneliness ain't killing me no more  
I, I'm stronger**

**Than I ever thought that I could be, baby  
I used to go with the flow  
Didn't really care 'bout me  
You might think that I can't take it, but you're wrong  
'Cause now I'm**

**Stronger, than yesterday  
Now it's nothing but my way  
My loneliness ain't killing me no more**

**-**_**Stronger (Britney Spears)**_

* * *

Sunlight filtered through the small windows of the house they were staying in during the early morning sunrise. Annie slowly opened her eyes and glanced around the room she was in before settling back on the bed and looking at the man next to her who was still fast asleep. She chuckles softly at the hair still in his face and moves it slightly, causing him to flinch a bit in his sleep. She smiles and gets up from the bed, placing her feet on the ground and heading out the door.

She glances down the hall and sees that the girls door was closed. After a much needed dinner last night, the girls had told their story to them. Everything from the beginning. Kelly did mot of the talking while Hallie, being the small four year old, popped in a few words when she could. Annie had also noticed that both girls seemed to take a liking to them. Then again, they hadn't come in contact with nice people in two months. She could understand how happy they probably were.

Going down the stairs, she goes to the kitchen and finds that some deer meat she had left on the counter from before wasn't there. She furrows her brow and takes out her knife. Looking around, she didn't see any walker, but saw that the front door was carelessly opened. She narrows her eyes and comes closer. Looking ou the small crack, she sees that it was just Kelly leaning on the side of the railing, looking out into the woods in front of them. Annie lets out a small sigh of relief and puts her knife away. She opens the door slightly and closes it quietly behind her, looking at Kelly. "You should really learn to close the door," she says, getting Kelly's attention.

Kelly looks over and then looks back to the forest. "Sorry," she replies. Annie nods and comes over to her.

"How's that ankle feeling?" she asks. Kelly shrugs.

"Better then it felt yesterday. Daryl did a good job," she says. Annie nods.

"Yeah, he's good at that. When did you get up? And why are you out here?" she asks. Kelly looks back at her with her green eyes and then back out.

"I had a nightmare, and coming out here clears my head of it," she states quietly. Annie nods, knowing what it feels like to have those sort of dreams. She comes next to her and leans against the railing, her back facing the forest.

"Do you at least have a weapon just in case?" she asks. Kelly nods and takes out the pistol from her belt. Annie nods at her. "Good. Wouldn't be good to have you defenseless." Kelly sighs and looks out, shrugging her shoulders.

"I know how to kill them without a gun," she says. "Just slam their head in." Annie chuckles.

"Yeah, but you can't do that if there's a bunch of them. A horde. You need a weapon on you at all times, got it?" she says. Kelly nods and Annie smiles to herself. "Good." She bites her lips for a second. "Anything about the nightmare you want to talk about?" she asks quietly. Kelly looks down.

"I was in a field," she starts. "A field with pretty white lilies everywhere, and there was this woman there. She had light blonde hair and pale green eyes. She had on a long white dress and her hair was in a bun. She looked like an angel from where I was. All she needed was the big fluffy wings in the back. So, I was staring at her, and she points out her index finger and does a 'come here' motion. And I walked to her, and when I got there, everything changed. Her skin turned gross, and her eyes turned white, and she leaned down to get a giant bite out of my shoulder. I tried to run but I tripped and she grabbed my ankle, and she brought me back to her mouth. I closed my eyes, telling her to stop, and suddenly, everything did. I was in a new place. But I was completely white. Oblivion. There was no one else around me. And that's what scared me the most. I had no one. Nothing. I was completely and utterly alone."

Annie looks down at the girl. She was _seven years old. _And she was already talking about stuff like she was a high schooler. Annie leans down to her height, which was about 5'0', and looks her in the eyes.

"Trust me when I say this. You and your sister won't be alone again. Look, I don't know what you've had in your life, but from the looks of it, it seems like it hadn't been to kind to you. But you don't need to worry about in anymore. You are with me and Daryl, literally one of the most badass pairs you will ever see in your life. Don't say that," she adds on, and Kelly giggles. Annie smiles. "You guys wont end up in oblivion, or whatever that is. You're not going to get chomped on by a walker, because I'm not going to let it happen, and neither is he. We're all in this together, so no backing out. We all protect each other, so stop worrying. You'll be fine." Kelly looks at the older woman in front of her and throws her arms around her neck in a tight hug.

"Thank you," she whispers. Annie smiles and hugs the girl back.

"It's nothing," she replies, pulling back and pushing a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. Kelly bites her lip slightly.

"Do you think Daryl would teach me how to use a gun properly?" she asks. "I don't really know how," she says sheepishly. Annie laughs, leaning up and taking the small girls hand in hers.

"Well, we'll ask him later. Let's make some breakfast for us to have." Kelly nods and follows Annie back into the house, closing the door behind them. She would always remember now.

The two start breakfast slowly, both deciding it was better to use the deer meat for bacon then find new meat. Kelly grabs some eggs from the refrigerator that Annie was surprised to see working. She lays down a pan and breaks them, letting the yolk fall onto the metal, but flinches when the steam hisses at her and bites her finger.

"Ow!" Annie hears Kelly say. Annie comes over and sees that there was a slight burn on Kelly's finger. Annie chuckles.

"How did you manage to do that?" she asks, laughing a bit. Kelly frowns at the pan.

"It burnt me," she replies easily. Annie chuckles a bit.

"Just stay back a bit from the pan so that doesn't happen again. It doesn't look bad at all from here." The two continue until they hear the pitter patter of small feet coming down the stairs. Hallie peeks into the kitchen at the smell of something cooking and is relieved to see Kelly there with Annie. Kelly looks over as does Annie, who smiles.

"Morning, Hallie," she says. Hallie smiles shyly at her.

"Morning," she says quietly, sitting on one of the taller seats so she could reach the table. Annie finishes up the deer bacon as she called it and took one of the eggs of the fryer. She puts them on a plate and hands it to Hallie, who looks at her gratefully. "Bacon and eggs?" she asks joyfully.

"Well, it's not exactly bacon, but it's as close as we're ever gonna get. Eat it slow and blow on it. It'll hurt a bit of you don't." Hallie nods and blows on the egg before taking a delicious bite. She hadn't had real eggs in forever. Annie looks outside and scoffs to herself. "That lazy man still isn't up?" she mutters to herself. "Kelly, keep an eye on the eggs for a second. I'm gonna go way Daryl's lazy butt up. If he doesn't open his eyes I'm sending you two up there to jump on the bed." Hallie giggles while Kelly offers a smile, keeping her eyes on the eggs.

Annie goes up the stairs and back to her room where she saw Daryl all tangled up in the sheets. She rolls her eyes and goes forward, coming onto the bed and shaking his shoulder slightly."Daryl, baby, you gotta get up," she says. He groans into the pillow. She shakes her head. He literally sounded like a teenager who didn't want to go to school. "Daryl the girls are up before you. That's saying something." He rolls over and looks at her, a small smile gracing his face.

"Really?" he asks. She nods amusedly.

"Yeah, in fact, Kelly's cooking some eggs right now for us. You gotta get that lazy butt up," she says. Daryl rolls his eyes and leans up on the bedpost. "Kelly wants to learn how to use a gun properly from you. Says you know what you're doing." He scratches the back of his neck.

"Girl's seven years old," he replies, looking at Annie. "Are ya sure that's ok for her mental health or some shit like that?" She smiles at his concern for the girl.

"Aw, look who cares," she replies, ruffling his hair. "She has to know how, Daryl. Especially in this world. But with you teaching her, I'm sure she'll be fine. Seems to really want it." Daryl bites his lip before nodding reluctantly. She smiles. "Good. You can take her and Hallie." Daryl furrows his brow at her.

"I thought it was only Kelly," he says. She shrugs her shoulders.

"Teach Hallie too. I'm going to secure this place a bit better while you're out."

"Are ya sure ya can do that alone?" he asks. She rolls her eyes and places a kiss on his lips.

"I'll be fine," she replies when she pulls back. "Spend some time with the girls. We're stuck with 'em," she says getting up from the bed. He chuckles before taking the covers off and following Annie downstairs.

* * *

"This thing is loud," Kelly states suddenly after shooting a bullet into a target. "Like, really loud." Daryl chuckles at the girls naiveness.

"Gun's are always loud, sweetheart," he says to her. "Just gotta get used to the noise," he states. He looks over and sees that Hallie was starting to look around and look behind trees. "Hallie, stay close to where I can see ya," he says for her to hear. She turns around and nods at him before turning back to the area she was looking in. Daryl turns his attention back to Kelly. "Aim it up a bit more," he states, and she does. It was still a little off. "To the left," he adds. She does as well. It was right there. "Take a deep breath and pull the trigger."

Kelly takes a slow deep breath and prepares herself for sound of the gun. When she shoots, she lets out a small squeal but is happy when the bullet hits the bulls-eye of the target. She smiles. "I got it!" she says proudly. He nods, an impressed look on his face.

"Good job, kid," he says, coming over to her. "Practice makes perfect though," he replies. "Keep tryin'," he replies. She nods and aims again until a scream stops her from shooting. Both look over and see Hallie backing up from a walker trying to get her. Daryl springs into action and runs forward, taking out his knife and stabbing the bastard in the head. Kelly runs over and grabs Hallie as she falls to the ground. Daryl pushes the walker back and leans down to Hallie. "Are ya alright?" he asks.

She nods weakly. "He came out of nowhere!" she says tearfully.

"I think practice can wait another day," Kelly says suddenly, looking up at Daryl. He nods. Hallie looks up at him and pouts.

"Can you carry me?" she asks. Daryl rolls his eyes and takes the girl up in his arms, resting her on one of his arms. She giggles as he does.

"Let's head back."

* * *

Hallie later lay in bed that night while Kelly and Annie were downstairs talking and Daryl was in his room. She couldn't get to sleep. She felt like another walker was going to come and grab her ankle. She needed to sleep but she just couldn't.

Looking around, she grabs her blanket and walks out her door. She hears Kelly and Annie talking downstairs and she keeps walking to Daryl's room. When she steps in, she closes the door until there was a small shine of light shining through doors crack. She walks over to the bed and climbs on top, trying not to make too much noise just in case. When she had done this with her old dad, he would yell at her for waking him up. She hoped he wouldn't do that.

She climbs over to the other side and shakes Daryl's shoulder. "Daryl?" she asks. When she didn't get a response she continues a bit louder. "Daryl," she whispers louder. This time she gets a grumble and she giggles at him. "Daryl?" she asks. A moment later he turns around and sees Hallie there, her blanket in her hand, staring at him. He furrows his brow.

"Hallie?" he asks confused. "Why are ya here? Shouldn't ya be asleep?" he asks. She looks down at the bed and looks back at him.

"I couldn't sleep. I was wondering if I could sleep here with you." Daryl stares at the young girl for a second. The days close encounter probably scared the crap out of her. "Please?" she added. He knew he couldn't say no to her. He opens up his arms and she smiles at him.

"Come 'ere," he states quietly. She smiles ever wider and goes into his chest, snuggling her head into his chest. He looks down at the small girl and smiles slightly at her.

"Goodnight, Daryl," she says, closing her eyes.

"Night, Hallie," he replies. Slowly, he feels her go limp in his arms and he chuckles at how easily she fell asleep. He looks around at the room and realizes that he wasn't going to be moving her anywhere anytime soon. She was stuck there. Looks like Annie's place was taken by Hallie for the night. But at the moment, he didn't really mind that much. He knew Annie wouldn't mind. In fact, he knew she would be over the moon to see her sleeping next to him. Little girl was hard to resist with that smile though. Just like Annie. Too freaking adorable.

* * *

**Reviews? :)**


	20. Daytrip

**A/N; Thank you so much for all the great reviews and followers and favorites! I decided since I got a few more then I usually do, I'm going to reply and see what people said:**

**KiyUzumaki-lol I'm fine with the post lol and glade you're enjoying the story so far!**

**Line Marie- I'm glad you like it!**

**tiffini (Guest)- lol I know I got that scene from the game but I couldn't think of anything else that would perfectly capture that moment then that scene, so I had to use it. But that's basically the only thing I really used directly from something walking dead. Everything else I've switched up or changed or created by myself.**

**Guest- I'm happy you're liking it! I'm trying to make Daryl seem fuzzy sometimes because I feel like he always needs a hug, especially after the latest episodes on the Walking Dead XD**

**Again, thanks for all the great new reviews and such! I'm going to try and take this chapter slow but I also have to hurry up because I have to be in bed early tonight for something special tomorrow I have at school, so I have to rush yet take it slow…oh, God help me. XD**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**I walked across an empty land  
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand  
I felt the earth beneath my feet  
Sat by the river and it made me complete**

**Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?  
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on  
So tell me when you're gonna let me in  
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin**

**I came across a fallen tree  
I felt the branches of it looking at me  
Is this the place we used to love?  
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?**

**Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?  
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on  
So tell me when you're gonna let me in  
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin**

**And if you have a minute, why don't we go?  
Talk about it somewhere only we know  
This could be the end of everything  
So why don't we go somewhere only we know?**

_**-Somewhere Only We Know (Keane)**_

* * *

Annie was staring. Yes, she was staring. Nothing bad, nothing horrible. She was staring with her heart being practically ripped out of her chest and her hand was to her mouth. She was staring at Daryl on the bed with Hallie nestled under his arm, sleeping soundly. She noticed his arm was protectively around her, and she nearly wanted to cry out in happiness and girlyness. Oh, if she had a camera…

She knew it. She knew Daryl cared about the kids. She had a feeling he had a soft spot for them. Just looking at Hallie proved her theory. But she frowns when she realizes something. She wouldn't have a normal life with him. They wouldn't be safe in a nice house with kids and relaxing night, but always on the run and always on alert with the dead walking around. She didn't even know if she could even think about possibly becoming a mother at this point in the world ending.

She smiles sadly and closes the door so the two could sleep in peace. She sighs and walks down the stairs. She could take the couch for the night.

* * *

Hallie wakes up before anyone else the next morning. Well, at least she thought. She gets up from Daryl's bed and looks out the small window in the room to the front and sees that Kelly was outside. And awake. Kelly was never awake this early. And she shouldn't be outside. She should be inside where they could be protected.

She walks out the door and closes the door behind her. Then walking down the stairs, making sure to hold onto the banister, her eyes move to the couch and sees Annie there, her eyes closed, soft snortes escaping her mouth. Hallie felt bad about taking her spot on the bed. But at the same time she didn't. It was really comfy. It was the first time she didn't have nightmares in a long time.

She goes to the front door and opens it quietly, peeking outside at Kelly. She was at Crackers side, filling up a pale of water for him to drink. Hallie had noticed that Cracker wasn't completely white. He had a few brown splotches on his body that were near his back. It just made him so much prettier in her opinion.

"You aren't supposed to be outside," Hallie says to her sister. "We 're supposed to stay in." Kelly rolls her eyes.

"I have a knife and a gun. I'll be fine, Hallie," she insists, handing the bucket to Crackers, who starts to lick up the water gratefully. She smiles at the horse and pats his head. "That's a good boy," she says quietly. "Drink up." Hallie bites her lip, looks at the door, and then back at her sister.

"Daryl and Annie said to stay inside when they're not up." Kelly turns to her sister and pulls out her knife.

"Hallie, we're literally right by the house. They'll hear us. And we'll be fine. Trust me. Come on over, pet Crackers," she states, placing the knife back in her belt and nuzzling the horse's head. The horse neighs in reply. Hallie slowly walks over to her sister and comes next to Crackers, gently rubbing his fur that was near his stomach. She smiles at the horse. He was so pretty for a boy. She wondered where Annie had found him.

"Have you fed him?" she asks. Kelly nods.

"Fed him some old Crackers I found," she states softly to the horse who was still drinking. "Ate them up very quickly." Hallie nods and looks back to the house.

"Do you like them?" she asks. Kelly looks at her little sister confused.

"What?" she asks. "Who?"

"Daryl and Annie," she says. "Do you like them?" she asks again. Kelly chuckles, shaking her head and turning back to the horse. Hallie's eyes widen. "You don't like them?"

"I did not say that!" Kelly says quickly. "I was shaking my head at that question. Yeah, I like them. They're nice. And sweet. And made us dinner and breakfast and have kept us alive. Daryl saved your life yesterday. I don't think there's a reason not to like them."

"They've killed people," Hallie says quietly. Kelly smiles sadly.

"They had to, sis," she says to her. "People in this world are not what they were before. Some are even more bad then they have ever been. Remember Joel?" she asks. Hallie nods softly. "He was bad. He tried to kill us. If we didn't get away, he would have. People like that have to be put down because there isn't a place for them on this world anymore. They just don't belong. So Annie and Daryl had to kill some people to get around. If we were along on the road we would probably have to as well," she says, turning back to the horse.

Hallie looks at the ground and shuffles her feet. "Good thing we don't because we got them, right?" she asks. Kelly nods, knowing sure that the two grownups weren't going to leave them there one day.

"I know they'll be staying with us," she says. Hallie nods again, a small smile on her face.

"I like them," she says. "Annie's nice and sweet, and cooks really good. Daryl's strong and protects us. They're great," she states. Kelly smiles at her sister.

"Yeah, they are. They really are," she says, taking a handful of water and spooning it into her mouth. She was getting really thirsty in the Georgia heat. And it didn't help that she was wearing jeans. She needed a serious wardrobe change.

"Do you think they'll be our new mommy and daddy?" she asks suddenly. Kelly choked on her water and spit it out, coughing up her lungs as she leans against her knees to catch her breath. Crackers was startled by the noise as Hallie comes over to pat her sister on the back. "Are you ok?" she asks. Kelly nods and shakes her head.

"Fine," she croaks out, straitening herself out. She looks at Hallie was an unbelievable expression on her face. "What makes you say that?" she asks. Hallie shrugs her shoulders slightly.

"They seem to like us a lot. And they want to protect us and keep us alive. We don't have a mommy or daddy anymore. And they take care of us more then they did in four years," she says quietly. "I want them," she states. Kelly bites the inside of her cheek and looks back at Crackers. Her sister had such unrealistic dreams that it made Kelly cringe at what she said. But she knew that in order to keep her sister going she had to say some positive stuff every once and a while.

"Well, I can't say that we'll get them now. But I will say that you can never know. Who knows? They might just end up being that," she says to Hallie, hoping that was satisfy as an answer for the stubborn four year old, and it did, as she simply nods and turns back to the house.

"We should go back to the house," she says, grabbing her sisters hand and taking her back. Kelly tries to break free.

"Hallie, I have to-"

"Let's go back," she says again, and Kelly realizes it was pointless. Her little sister wasn't going to let her go anytime soon.

* * *

"I'm pretty sure it's not too far from here," Annie says, making sure to keep an eye on the two girls in front of them. They had left the house with literally a shit load of traps so anyone who came across would know that it was theirs. Right now, they had all decided to head to a local department store to get new things for them, mostly food because the deer was running low and they needed some. Crackers had stayed behind and was grazing the area. He knew the house by now and it had only been a couple of days. "Right, Daryl?" she asks. He knew this more then her. He nods.

"Pretty sure," he states, looking around to make sure there was nothing around them. Kelly walked forward while Hallie kept looking down at the road and the trees and the flowers. Sometimes even the small animals that would fly across the hot pavement of the day. They hadn't been outside the area of the house in months.

"Where is this place again?" Kelly asks, squinting ahead to see if she could find a building of some sort. Annie shrugs.

"Not that far. We're almost there," she says. Kelly nods and continues to walk while Hallie continues her looking. She was so amazed by all the colors. She really was a pent up kid who had just gotten out. Annie takes her gaze off the girls for a second to look at Daryl. "I wish I had a camera," she states. Daryl looks down at her, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why?" he asks. She shrugs, but had a smile on her face all the same.

"To get a pic of you and Hallie sleeping together last night," she says cheekily. She sees his cheeks turn scarlet and she laughs slightly. "I'm just joking with you, Daryl," she says. He rolls his eyes.

"She had a nightmare," he grumbles to her. "Couldn't just let her go back." She raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you could have actually. I had them all the time when I was younger and went to people and they all just turned me away. But you didn't. I'm not busting your balls for this. I'm saying it's really sweet and kind you let her there. It shows you care about the girls, which I appreciate. I knew deep down you did," she replies, grabbing his hand and intertwining her fingers with his. He smiles small at the tiny gesture and gently squeezes her hand as a sign of thanks. Before another word could be said, Kelly's voice rose up from the shadows.

"I see it!" she suddenly says, pointing to the large Target in the distance. She could see the huge bulls-eye loud and clear. Hallie smiles. Annie nods at her.

"That's it. Let's get going."

* * *

Hallie was gazing down the toy aisle as the others searched through the store. It was completely deserted of walkers and they were free to roam since they were the only people in there. She walks into the aisle slowly, her mouth wide open as she looks at all the toys in wonder. They were there. They needed new stuff back at the house for them to have. She looks up at the highest toy on the shelf and almost squeals.

It was the biggest teddy bear she had ever seen in her life. It looked like it would fit her arms just right. It would be perfect for her. She attempts to reach up, but her measly height prevented her from even making it halfway. She pouts and looks around to find something to climb up on, but couldn't find anything good. She sighs and starts to walk away when she sees Annie come around the corner.

"What are you looking at?" she asks, coming over to Hallie. She points up at the teddy bear on the top shelf and Annie chuckles. "Do you want it?" she asks. Hallie nods slightly, and Annie reaches up and grabs the fluffy creature in her hands. Leaning down, she gives the stuffed animale to Hallie, who takes it with grateful arms and a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you!" she says happily. Annie chuckles.

"You're welcome," she replies. "What should we name her?" she asks. Hallie thinks for a second before deciding on a name.

"Lillie," she says, thinking back to all of the lilies she had seen when they were on their way to the store. Annie smiles and looks at the teddy bear.

"Lillie it is," she says. "Now, I have something for you to see," she states, taking something out of the basket she had. Hallie looks inside curiously and Annie pulls out a couple piles of clothes. Hallie's eye widened. "You said you needed new clothes, right? Well, here you go!" she says happily. Hallie looks through the pile and feels like she could cry. On the bottom, there was a pretty yellow sundress. She had never had one of those when she was younger.

"I love it," she says. "You're amazing." She throws her arms around her neck and gives Annie a tight hug. Annie hugs her back just as tightly. She already knew she loved these girls and it had only been a couple of days. They were fighters. Just like Daryl. Just like her. And they deserved something better then what they had before.

"Thank you," she says, pulling back, straightening out a piece of hair on the little girls forehead. "You need a little of a cut," she says to her. Hallie shakes her head.

"I don't like those!" she states, placing her hands on her head to protect her hair. Annie laughs and fingers a strand.

"Well, do you want your hair to be grabbed on?" she asks. Hallie was quiet for a second before replying.

"No," she mumbles. Annie smirks.

"Then we have to cut it!" she says. Hallie whines and Annie rolls her eyes. "Don't worry. I give good haircuts. We'll wait till we get back to cut it, ok? Let's just get back to the head of the store," she says, placing the clothes back in her bin. "Don't forget Daisy," she says. Hallie nods and takes Daisy tightly in her arms, following Annie to the front.

On the other side of the store, Kelly was trying to get a pair of shorts that were on the very high shelf of one of the aisles. She tried jumping, bumping into the thing to make them fall, but nothing was happening. She wondered if her sister was having just as much trouble as she was. Trying to get up, she starts to hum some songs under her breath to pass the time, trying to think of a way to get them.

She could ask for help, but she wanted to get them by herself. She was able to. She was smart. She just needed to think. She looks at the shelves and an idea pops into her head. She places her bag on the ground and places a foot on the bottom shelf, takes a deep breath, grabs on, and places her next foot on the higher shelf. It starts to creak under her weight, but there was no way she was letting a perfectly good pair of jeans left behind.

She keeps climbing and climbing until she got to the very top, her legs very shaky now. She slowly reaches up and grabs the pair of shorts with a triumphant smirk. But before she could have a victory party, she feels the shelf below her give out and it breaks into two, sending her to the hard ground. She lets out a squeal of terror as she hits the ground. When her butt his the bottom, she groans in protests and leans up, but was knocked back down by at least ten pairs of jeans falling on her head.

She hears scrambling and the sound of people talking, but all she could feel was the smile that spread across her face. She leans up and removes a pant leg from her eyes to see Daryl and Annie there lloking at her worriedly. She simply smiles at them.

"What the hell did ya do?" Daryl asks, staring at the pants on her head. She starts to giggle.

"I was just trying to get shorts," she laughs, now on the ground, her belly bursting with laughter coming in all shapes and sizes. She put her hand on her stomach from the pain. "I look so stupid," she laughs. "Don't I?" Annie smiles into her hand while Daryl rolls his eyes again and walks over, taking the pants off her head and helping her up.

"We better get home," Annie says, containing her smile for the moment. Kelly was grinning when she gets up and walks over to her sister who was smiling at her too. "Sun's going to start going down soon." Daryl nods and takes his basket full of supplies from the floor, going up to Annie. Kelly and Hallie were already making their way to the front while Annie and Daryl stayed back. "Pants on her head," she giggles. Daryl lets out a small chuckle.

"Didn't expect that to happen today," he states, grinning slightly. She was about to reply when his head turned sharply to the back. She furrows her brown in confusion and places a hand on his arm.

"What's wrong?" she asks. He stares at the back for a moment before shaking his head.

"Thought I heard somethin'," he mumbles. "Must just be imagining shit. Let's head back. I'm sure they're hungry," he says, indicating his head towards the front doors. She nods and follows him. Whatever was back there was gone now.

* * *

**Reviews? :)**


	21. You Again

**Thank you for all the new followers and favorites and reviews I've gotten! They're always great! I had a day off tomorrow so hopefully I can update both of my stories without interruption because school had been a bitch lately XD Thank God I do though. It's so annoying now, waking up early and going to school. It's just plain annoying now. But now I'm writing this for you people and I can't wait to see what you think of it! I'm gonna bring in some things in this chapter I've been waiting to bring in! On with the story!**

**Oh, and this chapter takes place a couple of months after they found the house, so life will be a bit different from here on out. Just wanted to let that be known.**

* * *

**I know I drive you crazy, hmm...sometimes  
I know I call you lazy, and that's most times  
But you complete me, and that's no lie  
You are my tuxedo, and I'm your bow tie  
We in the car sing sing singing our song  
Rocking the building, tear it down like we King Kong  
And in my eyes you can do-do no wrong  
You got a best friend? Sing, sing along**

**Laughing so damn hard**

**Crashed your dad's new car  
All the scars we share  
I promise, I swear**

**Both: Wherever you go just always remember  
That you got a home for now and forever  
And if you get low just call me whenever  
This is my oath to you**

**Wherever you go just always remember  
You're never alone, we're birds of a feather  
And we'll never change no matter the weather  
This is my oath to you**

_**-Oath (Cher Loyed)**_

* * *

Giggling was heard in the hallways as two sets of little feet ran down the second floor to the end with their hands clasped together. When they reach the end of the stairs, they run down and run to the back and hide behind the door, away from the two sets of eyes outside that were talking. Both laugh silently as they talk quickly to stage their plan.

While the two talked in private without the people outside knowing, the people outside were simply talking to each other. These so happened to be Daryl and Annie, who were picking out some plants from the small garden they had made. Crackers was galloping around the area, and Annie had to shoo him away twice because he was trying to nip away at some of their food. And every single time she would feel bad and offer him a carrot. And every other time after that Daryl would criticize her for doing so and she would simply roll her eyes. They had plenty to eat by this point.

It had been two months since they had found the house, and two months since they had found Kelly and Hallie, and two months since they had practically found a home to live in. Both Annie and Daryl decided that it would be better to just secure the house and keep it going then to go off into the world with two little girls when they had a perfectly good home to take care of. So they reinforced the fence and made it stronger so when a walker would come it wouldn't come through.

Ever since then, they had cleaned up the house and lived in it, obviously. And instead of getting something new each day to eat, Annie had come up with the clever idea of having a simple garden in the back to eat some veggies from besides all the meat they got. At first, Daryl thought it was pointless to even try that. They had done that at the prison and even there it hadn't been that good. But once he actually tasted to vegetables for the first time during dinner one night, they actually tasted pretty good, and he regretted ever doubting what Annie could say. He really should never underestimate her.

The girls had developed a routine with the two grownups as well. They would help them out with chores around the house, help Annie make dinner when they needed to, but half the time they would just be little girls. They would talk and play and sleep like they should. Both Annie and Daryl had given them proper gun lessons, though. Even if they allowed them to mess around, they still needed to know how to protect themselves more than anything in this world.

But it wasn't just the fact that they found a place to inhabit for a while. It was that they had actually sort of turned it into a nice home for them. The four were practically family now, if not already were. The girls had grown a strong bond to both of them. But they could be seen hanging out with one person more than the other at some times. Hallie liked to help Annie out at home because she didn't like the sound of the gun, even though she had to use it. While Kelly liked to go out with Daryl sometimes to the woods. She liked being out in the wilderness and learning how to hunt.

Personally, Daryl never thought the small seven year old would ever in the history of the universe want to learn how to hunt, of all things to learn how to do. He was reluctant at first, but after her constant begging and trying, he accepted annoyingly but soon learned that she was a very fast learner. But either or, the kids were still learning how to survive, and that's all that matters.

But right now it was around twelve in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly down on the bodies of Daryl and Annie in the garden. From what Annie could tell, it felt like it was about June in Georgia, and that meant it was getting a bit hotter each day. So as of late she had been wearing shorter clothes so she wouldn't faint of a heat stroke, much to Daryl's dismay.

"it's stupid to be wearin' that shit, Annie," he says to her while picking off a tomato from one of the vines. She rolls her eyes at his constant bickering.

"I've seen people wear shorter clothes then these, Daryl," she says, gesturing to her shorts and her tank top that barely fit her. Her arms weren't even showing. She was wearing a bloody denim jacket for God's sake! She wasn't that exposed. "I'm quite covered up compared to most girls."

"Won't stop a walker from tryin' to bite ya," he states. She chuckles.

"I'll be fine, Daryl. You need to stop worrying about me," she says. He looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

"When the hell do I ever stop worryin' about ya?" he says to her. She smiles at this and looks back down to the dirt.

"Never," she says, chuckling a bit to herself. "But I know how to handle myself. I'm quite good when it comes to walkers." He shakes his head.

"Doesn't mean I can't worry," he says. She sighs happily, shaking her head.

"Oh, Daryl," she mumbles under her breath. "Hey, I was wondering. How did you know I was awake this morning?" she asks. When they were in bed that morning he immediately knew she was awake, and she had no clue how he knew.

"I saw ya watching me," he says. She feels her cheeks redden as her hands stop for a second in trying to pull a plant up from the ground. How had he seen that?! She clears her throat and shakes her head.

"I was not doing that," she denies. He snorts at this, shaking his head.

"Bullshit ya weren't. Ya were so watchin' me. Don't deny it, Annie," he says, seeing that she was about to deny again. She shuts her mouth and stares at him for a second before shaking her head yet again and working back on the dirt, a small smile on her face. "Knew it," he says triumphantly. She throws some dirt in his direction.

"Shut up," she says to him playfully. He snickers slightly at the childlike gesture she did and throws a bit of dirt back at her. She flinches her face back a bit when some dirt lands on her cheek. She starts to wipe it off but feels some wetness on her hand. She pulls her hand back when she sees Daryl start to laugh. When she sees exactly what was gracing her palm, she snickers as well. He hadn't just thrown dirt. He had thrown mud. "Nice job, Dixon," she replies, throwing some mud back at him. It lands on his chin and on his chest and he wipes it off easily. "How come it comes off so easily with you!" she says mad.

"I'm used to mud," he replies simply. She rolls her eyes and goes back to the dirt.

"You know what I've noticed?" she says to him. He glances her way for a second before turning back to the dirt.

"What?" he replies. She smiles.

"You've changed a lot since I found you." He looks up with a questioning look and she smiles at him.

"In what way?" he asks. She shrugs her shoulders, working on pulling a root up from the ground that was preventing her from digging some dirt.

"Well, when we first met, you seemed so…broken, I guess. Didn't seem like someone to share feelings. Very stubborn, if you remember the couch," she says, and he chuckles slightly. "Angry. But after that first night there was a change in you, and I started to see a much better side of Daryl Dixon then I was introduced to. A sweet one, caring, protective…not to mention nearly chopped a guy's head off to get to me," she mumbles, snickering slightly. "And when the kids came along…you literally just blew me out of the water with you well you take care of them. You're amazing with them and I'm sure you would have been a great father have this world not been the way it is now. They love you so much." She bites her lip. "I love you," she says softly.

This got his attention. He looks sharply at her with his eyes slightly wide. No one had ever even said that to him. But the way she was looking at him was sincerely the most loving he had ever seen. He looks down at the dirt for a second before looking back up at her. "Ya sure?" he mumbles. She smiles, snickering slightly at his reaction.

"I'm sure," she replies happily. He stares at her for a second before reaching a dirty hand out behind her neck and pulling her to him, crashing his lips onto hers. She gasps at the sudden contact and he takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. She moans at the contact and comes closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, tugging at the messy strands that was his hair. When he pulls back, he lays his forehead against hers and places his lips on her in quick kiss again.

"I love ya, too," he says softly when he pulls back. She smiles and kisses him again. When he starts to deepen it slightly, she is interrupted by something breaking over in the distance. She pulls back, her brow furrowed.

"You heard that too, right?" she asks. "I'm not crazy, right?" He nods, looking over where he heard it.

"Yeah, I heard it," he replies, standing up and lending out a hand to help her. She takes it gratefully and he pulls her up from the dirt. She looks down and sighs when she sees her legs covered in mud and grime. She would need another bath or scrubbing later.

"Where do you think that came from?" she asks. He shrugs.

"Around the side of the house," he replies, taking out his knife. Annie had told him to always keep it on him because it was a lot lighter then carrying around his crossbow all the time. Right now they were outside without it.

She nods and begins to follow him, but stops when she hears fastley paced footsteps behind her. She turns around sharply but is only attacked and brought to the ground by two girls. She lands on the grass with a thud and feels the two girls laughing on her chest, which causes her to laugh as well. Daryl turns around and sees Annie on the ground with Kelly and Hallie on her chest.

"The heck are ya doin' to her?" he asks. He had learned to watch the language around the little kids, or else Annie's wrath would be put on him and he wasn't a fan of that. Kelly looks up and smiles.

"We wanted to say good morning in our own personal way," she says laughing. Annie groans from beneath them.

"You're much heavier then you look," she croaks out, trying to get them off. "Good morning, girls," she says to them. Daryl rolls his eye at the two small girls but smiles small at what they were doing. He knew they just wanted to have a bit of fun.

"Ok, stop crushin' her," he replies. Kelly crosses her arms over her chest.

"You're going to have to remove us," she says. Hallie follows in her lead and crosses her arms. Daryl smirks at them.

"If ya insist," he says, bending down and picking both of them up. He puts Hallie in his right arm while Kelly goes in his left one. Both were light enough for him. Hallie giggles at this while Kelly yells in glee. Annie finally is able to breath and sits up to look at the picture she was seeing happening in front of her. She laughs at the image of them on his shoulders. He spins them around slightly and both laugh.

She wished the world wasn't like this so badly in that one moment. That it could be like this all the time. But it couldn't. But in this moment, she was enjoying the hell out of it.

* * *

"Kelly, be sure to stay in distance, ok?" Annie says. "Don't need you to wonder off where I can't find you." Kelly nods and loads her gun quietly.

"I will," she says. "I'm not going that far into the woods." Annie nods, making sure she had her knife on her. She takes one last look and sighs.

"Please be aware. Only some yards, ok? Where I can still hear you!" Kelly rolls her eyes and nods.

"I know, Annie!" she replies, going off into the woods. "I'll be back in a minute." She had lost one of her knives in the woods and knew that it was close to where the house was. She just needed to go in there and get it.

Annie sighs and lets her go. She would know if she was to get hurt. Kelly looks around the trees and finally notices how tall they really were, how they seemed to reach the sky and beyond. She wished she could climb one, but it had always been sort of hard for her. She bites her lip looking around the area, making sure that there were no fast approaching walkers. That was what Daryl and Annie called them.

She walks a few yards further into the forest, glancing around the ground to see if she could see the speck of bright silver reflecting the hot Georgia sun. But she knew that it wouldn't that easy. Heck, it could have been taken by this point. The last time she was out here was with Daryl and that had been three days ago.

She suddenly hears a branch snap from the bushes behind her and she takes out her gun, pointing it at whatever was there, but finds that it was completely cleared of anything, dead or living. Her brow furrows when she sees this, but quickly turns back into a frown when she hears the groan behind her. She quickly spins around and sees the walker fast approaching her. It was twice her size. Using all the skills Annie had taught her in the past couple of months, she aims it for the head and throws the knife. It lands right in the middle.

She cheers slightly when she the walker crumples to the ground. She walks forward and grabs the knife out from its head, only to see a bit of silver from underneath it. She gently moves the walkers head and smiles. Her knife was right underneath it.

She moves the head further away so there was no chances of it suddenly coming back to life and biting her as she leaned down and picks up the handle. Grasping it in her hand, she smiles as it fits perfectly. She places it back in her holster where it properly belonged.

And then she hears a gun load.

She spins around and sees a boy there. He was older then her. A lot older. Looked to be maybe fourteen. And he had a gun that was out. She backs up slightly away from him in fear. Annie told her to run if she ran into people like this. He tries to hold up his hands in a harmless gesture.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he says, placing the gun down, but she was already backing up even more. She trips on the ground and falls down on her butt, but quickly gets back up, wiping the dirt off. "I just want to ask how you killed that walker," he asks.

"My…my mama taught me," she says, using the word to see how it sounded. Yeah, that term definitely fit Annie. But she had to lie to him for now. "She also told me not to talk to strangers…" she says, starting to run back.

"No, wait-" he starts, but she was already off, running through the trees back to the house to get away from the boy. She wouldn't be caught. Not again.

* * *

Kelly was staring out the window when she got back to the house later that day. She didn't know if that boy followed her or not. She didn't want to know. But Annie and Daryl noticed how weird she had been acting. She walks over to Kelly and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok, Kelly?" she asks quietly. Kelly was about to reply when she sees the forest move from the house. She grips the edge of the windowsill. Hallie sees this and walks over to her sister, trying to look out the tall window, but finding it hard with her short frame. Kelly looks closer and nearly faints when she sees the boy step out of the woods with two other people behind him.

"There's people coming from the woods!" she whispers fearfully. Daryl hears this and grabs his crossbow, then comes over to the window she was looking at. When he saw who the people were, his heart nearly drops.

"No shit," he mumbles, racing to the door. Annie follows behind him. Whoever these people were Daryl knew them. Kelly and Hallie hid behind her.

Daryl goes outside and onto the back porch. Two of the people stop when they see him. One was the boy Kelly had seen, but was now wearing some sort of a sheriff's hat, and the other was older, who had a scruffy beard a jacket on. He stares stupefied and dumbfounded at Daryl. He thought he was long gone out of Georgia by now.

"Daryl," he says, rushing up to him. Daryl steps off the porch and embraces his old friend in a manly hug. Annie knew from that moment that the man must be Rick, and the boy Carl. But she still didn't know who the woman was behind them.

"Jesus, Rick," he says quietly. He pulls back and Rick nods at him, while Daryl returns it. Annie walks over with a smile on her face. Daryl looks at her pleasantly surprised and she raises her hands up in a harmless way, the way that Carl did earlier in that day.

"I didn't plan this," she states playfully. Daryl pulls her forward so that she was next to him.

"This is Annie," he says to Rick and Carl. "Been with me almost since the prison fell." She smiles at them and shakes their hands.

"It's great to finally meet the people he talks about twenty four seven." He snorts.

"I do not talk about them twenty four seven," he says. She smiles at him.

"Course you don't, Dixon," she replies. Rick raises an eyebrow at Daryl at their playful banter. He knew what this was. He and Lori had done the same thing when they were together. Something told him there was something else going on besides just survival partners. But he would talk to Daryl about that later.

"Then I should thank you," Rick says. "Probably made life a little easier for him. Glad he's still ok. Thought he was a goner." Daryl nods.

"So did I," he says quietly. "You too, kid," he adds on, looking at Carl. He seemed a little expressionless at the reunion, but Annie could see that he was slightly happy to see his old group member safe and sound. She also noticed he was staring off into something in the house and she moves her head to see him staring at Kelly, who was trying to hide behind the door. She must have been who she ran into in the woods. She knew something happened while she was in there.

"Annie?" she hears behind her. She's sucked out of her trance and she looks to where the sound came from. It didn't come from the men, but from the woman that was with Rick and Carl. Her hair was a light brown, and she was wearing dark blue jeans and a black tank top. Suddenly, Annie sees something in her eyes. They were a light blue. A very light blue. She only knew one person in her life that had those eyes. She shakes her head, narrowing her eyes.

"No way," she says. "I'm imagining this," she continues, placing her hands on her head. But the woman continues.

"Annie, it's me," she says quietly. Annie looks up and makes eye contact with her, and in that moment, she knew who this woman was. And that's what caused her to break out into a sprint and run into the woman's arms, who wrapped them around her tightly and spun her around slightly. Annie could feel tears start to threaten to fall down her face as she held onto the woman in front of her as if she let go she would die.

She had found Jill.

* * *

**Aw, little bit of a family chapter. :)**

**Reviews? :)**


	22. Catching Up

**A/N: Thank you so much for the new reviews and followers and favorites! They mean so much! It's currently eleven at night and I'm striving my hardest to get this up before I go to bed, so please excuse any spelling errors or grammar errors in this chapter because it is late XD**

* * *

**I got my sights set on you and I'm ready to aim  
I have a heart that will never be tamed  
I knew you were somethin' special when you spoke my name  
Now I can't wait to see you again**

**I've got a way of knowin' when somethin' is right  
I feel like I must have known you in another life  
'Cause I felt this deep connection when you looked in my eyes  
Now I can't wait to see you again**

**The last time I freaked out, I just kept lookin' down  
I st-st-stuttered when you asked me what I'm thinkin' 'bout  
Felt like I couldn't breathe, you asked what's wrong with me  
My best friend Jilly said, "Oh she's just being Annie"**

**The next time we hang out, I will redeem myself  
My heart can't rest 'til then  
Ooh whoa whoa I, I can't wait to see you again.**

_**-See You Again (Miley Cyrus)**_

* * *

Annie didn't know how long she had held onto Jill. She had absolutely no clue at all. But all she did know was that her best friend that she had known for so long and hadn't seen in such a long time was back in her life, and she was just…there. Annie pulls back and feels her heart strings being pulled while looking at her. Her light brown hair was longer and curlier, and her body was taller and slimmer then when she last saw her, which was the day she left when she was thirteen. But it was the same blue eyes. The same light blue that had drawn her in so much.

"Jesus, are you really here?" Annie whispers, holding her face in her hand. Jill laughs and places one of her hands on her own.

"Yeah, I'm here, Annie," she says gently. Annie sighs happily.

"God almighty, you've changed so much!" she says. Jill laughs again.

"I'm pretty sure you change a lot within a twelve year time span. You too," she says, gesturing to Annie's body and clothes. "You look a lot different from when you were in that orphanage. Were you ever…" Annie shakes her head, knowing what she was going to ask.

"No, I wasn't. But I did get out of there as soon as I turned eighteen." Jill nods approvingly.

"Good," she replies, staring at Annie with a smile. Annie smiles back. She still couldn't believe that she was standing there in front of her.

"I'm guessin' this is your friend?" Annie hears Daryl say. She turns around and smiles at him, nodding happily.

"She's ok, Daryl. She's alive. Jesus Christ, she's ok," she says, hugging her again. Jill laughs and hugs her back tightly. "God, I have so much to tell you about! So much to talk about, oh sweet Jesus. I can tell you about-"

"Annie?" she hears from the door of the house. Annie nearly smacks herself. She had forgotten about the kids for a moment. All of the group that came turned to the door to see the two girls who were now at the back door, staring at the new people with interest. Jill raises her eyebrows.

"Are they…" Annie shakes her head again.

"No, they're not. But they might as well be," she whispers to her. "Don't worry girls, will be in there in a minute!" she says. She turns to the rest of the group and Rick was looking at the girl with a raised eyebrow. He turns to Daryl.

"You got some explaining to do," he says to him, and Daryl snorts happily hearing him say that. Annie laughs at this and gestures her head towards the house.

"We have a lot to explain, but come on in and get something to eat. I'm sure your hungry."

* * *

The survivors were in the living room of the house and all four of them were talking together while Carl was outside in the back, looking at what Daryl had done to the small house that he and Annie were staying in. He knew from a mile away that Daryl and Annie were together. He could see it in the way they looked at each other. But had he no clue that Jill and Annie had been best friends in their previous life. And he had this weird feeling that their friendship went very deep. But at the moment he didn't really care.

He looks at the reinforced fence and nods in approval. They had done a good job of bolting them up so no walkers would get in while they slept. That and the fact that the house was well hidden in the forest. But if his father talked to them today they might have a place for them to stay at back in the safe zone they were in.

His eyes travel to the white horse that was being gently brushed by the two girls that were supposedly taken into the care of Daryl and Annie. The older one that he had nearly shot earlier was talking to the younger one with a small smile while the horse neighs at her affection. The young one giggles and nods her head, looking back to the horse and feeding it a carrot. The older one looks up and sees that he was looking at them and quickly looks away. She speaks to her little sister and she looks up as well, but unlike her older sister, she waves her hand at him, telling him hi.

He raises an eyebrow at the smaller girl but raises his hand in a one wave salute at the small girl. The older girl turns to her and says something to her and the younger girl turns back to the horse with a pout on her face. Carl wonders what she said but stops when he hears the voices from the living room drift outside. He steps back into the house and travels to the living room where all of them were talking. When he gets there he sees that Annie and Jill were sitting close to each other, as he suspected he would see, and Daryl and his father across. He leans against the doorframe. All the seats were taken up.

"So you've been in this house for two months?" Rick asks Daryl. He nods.

"Yeah, been pretty secure since then." Annie nods.

"Took a while though to fix all the fences. Especially since we have a horse we have to make sure he has enough room to run around when we're not here," she states. Jill raises an eyebrow at her.

"How the hell did you get a horse? You never even talked about riding one when we were younger," she says. Annie laughs at her statement.

"We found it one day because…well, it's a long story. But the short version is I had hurt my leg and I didn't want to walk, and we found this old abandoned barn where we found Crackers. And we've had him since then. Been some mode of transportation. We take care of him. And the girls love him." Rick raises a hand.

"That's what I wanted to ask. The girls. Where did you find them?" he asks.

"Hiding in a closet," Annie chuckles slightly. "Huddled close to each other to protect the other. We kind of taught them how to survive and thrive if anything was to happen. They're fast learners."

"How old are they?" Rick asks.

"And names?" Jill adds on.

"Kelly is seven," Daryl states, leaning a bit back in his chair.

"And Hallie is four." Carl's eyebrow rose.

"You have a four year old with a gun?" he asks incredulously. "Are you sure that that's smart?" he adds on. Annie rolls her eyes.

"Like I said, they're fast learners. They know when to use a gun and not to. You have to in this world." She sighs and shake her head. "Well, how about you guy talk and such. I know it's been a while since you three have seen each other," she states, standing up from the couch. "Jill and I have some catching up to do," she says, smiling at her. Jill snorts.

"A whole twelve years of catching up," she says, and Annie grabs her hand and practically drags her up the stairs to her bedroom so they could talk in private. Carl realizes he and his father needed to talk privately for the moment so he excuses himself.

"I'm just gonna look around," was his excuse for leaving, and he goes back outside to the porch and sits in one of the chairs, closing the door behind him. He takes good use in watching Kelly and Hallie, now knowing their names, interact with the horse. He had to admit, the little girls were pretty damn adorable.

Daryl stares up the stairs as the two girls go up and he hears Rick chuckle behind him. "Man, you got it bad," he states. Daryl looks back at him with a furrowed brow.

"The hell ya talkin' about?" he asks. Rick raises his eyebrows.

"Annie?" he says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You two are together, right? I'm not just imagining things." Daryl considers his question for a second before nodding at him softly, biting his lip while doing so. Damn, he didn't know he would be so nervous to actually tell someone he was with her. Rick chuckles again. "Bout time you got someone. I was surprised you didn't go for anyone back at the prison." Daryl furrows his brow again.

"What do ya mean?" Rick snorts.

"You had girls lining up for you, man. A lot liked you. I know for a fact that Carol loves you," he says quietly. Daryl looks at him sharply at the mention of the older woman's name.

"Is she-"

"She's alive," he says. "She's in the safe zone we're in, but she's under high supervision after what we told them. They don't let anyone near her when she had one of her fits." Daryl's brow seems to furrow even more if possible. "She has schizophrenia," he says. Daryl's eyes widen slightly.

"She does?" he asks. Rick nods.

"Yeah, claims that was one of the reasons she killed Karen and David. But I still don't believe that for a second. But after seeing some of her fits, I do know she has that disorder. God, if she saw you after all this time she would nearly lose it again. And now that you're with someone she'll go even more crazy," he states, chuckling a little.

"Wait, what zone? And how the hell did you even meet Jill in the first place?" Daryl asks. Rick nods at this.

"Carl, Michonne and I were in the forest when we saved her from a few walkers that were grabbing at her feet from the branch of tree. She had proven she has skill. Probably learned from Annie. She talked about her a lot. Saying how much she missed her and she wanted to see her. And now look. She did. But the safe zone we're at is kind of like a Woodbury but without the Governor. It's a town. Plenty of houses to live in. Very protected. And I know for a fact the leader isn't crazy," he says, leaning a bit back in his chair. Daryl raises an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah? And how do ya know that?" he asks. Rick smiles slightly.

"I work with him. Names Blake. He's sane. Works well with others. Place could always use new hunters." Daryl nods and looks out the window when he hears Kelly yell in Glee. Rick notices this and chuckles quietly. "You really care about those kids, huh? And Annie?" he says. Daryl nods, this time not embarrassed to show that he did.

"Yeah, I do. I love her," he says suddenly. "Annie. I do. She's done so much in the past few months. Hell, if it wasn't for her I probably would have just opted out like god damn Jenner did back at the CDC," he says, placing his head in his hands. Rick nods and comes over to where he was sitting and sits beside him. He places a hand on his shoulder and causes Daryl to look up.

"Trust me when I say this. Those kids, and Annie…they'll be very safe in the zone. There's been no mishaps at all. And I'm sure everyone would accept them back. Everyone from the prison is there. Glenn, Tyreese, Maggie, Beth, Carol…all of them are there. We all found a home there that had been the best thing. All we're missing is you."

"Do ya have any idea how fucking cheesy that sounded?" he asks. Rick snorts and then laughs at that comment.

"Yeah, I know. But it's the truth." Daryl thinks for a second. A secure place for them? Hell, they had made plenty of memories in that small haven they had, but with a new place for them to actually not have the threat on them to constantly stay up and protect each other was so appealing. He knew he had to take them there, even the damn horse. Damn animal had wiggled its way into his heart too.

"I'll talk to Annie when she gets back down," he says. "But I'm sure she'll say yes. She always goes on about a place to relax for once," he says softly. Rick nods.

"And that's what this place is."

* * *

Annie and Jill were laughing at some of the memories of their life they were sharing in the bedroom, all while interacting and standing up to recreate some of the stuff they had done. Annie had never felt so happy in her life then seeing Jill standing in front of her. Her friend. Her first ever. Only with Daryl did she feel the happiness she felt with Jill right now.

"And then we traveled all the way home, on an eighteen hour flight, with mud and spaghetti sauce all over our body!" Jill laughs, clinging onto her body as she laughs hard. Annie was doing the same, laying back on the bed to catch her breath.

"Jesus, that must have sounded like some good trip to Italy!" she says to her, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh I wish I was there with you," she states. Jill looks at her sadly, climbing onto the bed next to her and laying next to her body, leaning slightly on her headboard to look at her.

"I wish you were too," she says softly. "I wish I could have taken you with me. I felt terrible when I felt you there at the orphanage, and we left on such bad terms I thought you were going to hate me forever." Annie's eyes connect with hers and she smiles.

"I could never hate you," she says softly. "I can be very pissed off at you, but I can't hate you," she says. Jill laughs and looks out the window on the bed.

"I can't believe you're taking care of kids now. Jeez it's amazing how long it's been," she whispers. Annie chuckles and turns on the bed to face her body, her knees now against the sheets and her hands in her lap.

"I know. I can't believe you're still alive. God." Jill looks at the door and sighs.

"So you have a boyfriend, huh?" she says slyly. Annie chuckles, shaking her head.

"Yeah I do, which means no kisses," she states. Yeah, Annie was bi. She hadn't told anyone except Jill because the two had shared a small kiss when they were kids, and they were just experimenting then. But that was what built their bond. The fact that they were that close that they could do that. But she was way more into guys then she was into girls. Jill laughs.

"NO, no, I have a bf," she says, and Annie snorts. She knew Jill was bi too. They were bi together. Jesus, they were sometimes too close. "He's the leader of this place where we're staying at. He's amazingly sweet and kind and just the best. He's like the male version of you," she says. Annie furrows her brow, a smirk on her face.

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," she chuckles. Jill smiles and leans up.

"It's a good thing," she says quietly. "I missed you, and I found you in him. He's great. You and him will get along swimmingly." Annie raises an eyebrow.

"We'll?" she asks. Jill bites her lip and nods.

"I want you to come back with us. We were out on a raid and we came across the house and-oh, I just want you to come back. Please, Annie. This feels amazing to be by you again and I just want to be with my best friend again." Annie looks down at the sheets while Jill grabs her hands. "There's plenty of places for you and Daryl and the kids to stay at. It's protected and clean and even the horse will be ok. We can make everything work again. We can be best friends again," she finishes in a whisper.

Annie looks at her and realizes she wasn't joking. She really did want to be with her again. To be by her side and be her partner in crime like she had been at the orphanage. This twenty five year old woman, being two years younger than her, was practically begging on her knees for her to come back with her so they could start over. And who was she to say no? She sighs and shakes her head.

"We have to talk to Daryl first," she starts, and Jill was looking at her anxiously. "But I'm on board." Jill squeals in happiness and kisses her cheek, while Annie laughs at her gesture.

"You're going to love it there! It's going to be great and you'll meet so many people! Oh it'll be just like old times again!" she says happily. Annie smiles at her old friend. Happy to see her smile, she joins in on her fantasies. Maybe they could finally find somewhere to just relax and settle down. And maybe this was the place.

* * *

**Little bit of a twist with the bisexual stuff XD wanted to add a bit to the story XD**

**Review? :)**


	23. Aasim

**A/N: First off, I want to thank shika93 for reviewing every single chapter! OMG that completely made my day! And also thank you for the other reviews and new followers and favorites as well! I can't believe this story has 74 followers! That's amazing that you guys support this story so much! So this chapter I just want to clear some stuff up. The group is already on their way to the safe zone. I feel like since I said that both Daryl and Annie were ok with the idea, I'd just cut to the chase and get on with the story. **

**Oh, and also, the relationship that Annie and Jill have is kind of like Santana and Brittney from Glee. Look them up if you don't watch the show. They just aren't in a relationship lol**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**The day we met  
Frozen I held my breath  
Right from the start  
I knew that I'd found a home for my  
Heart beats fast  
Colors and promises  
How to be brave  
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall  
But watching you stand alone  
All of my doubt  
Suddenly goes away  
somehow**

**One step closer**

**I have died every day  
Waiting for you  
Darlin' don't be afraid  
I've loved you for a  
Thousand years  
I'll love you for a  
Thousand more **

_**-A Thousand Years (Christina Perri (Glee Version))**_

* * *

Annie stares ahead as they walked on the path to apparently the truck they had taken out here for the raid. How they would fit the horse in there, she had no idea. Maybe one of them had to ride him and follow the car, but she would really prefer not to. But now that she thought about it, she could take Jill on the horse and have her ride with her. She remembered how she would talk about horses when she was younger. How much she wanted to pet one.

She sighs and looks at her friend happily who was exchanging words with Rick quietly. Even Annie could tell they had a small connection. Even if Jill was dating the supposed leader and she thought that Rick had a girlfriend with everything that Daryl had told her, she knew they were close. Friends, at least. She should be thankful to him that he saved her life. And she was. Very thankful, in fact.

Her eyes travel to Kelly and Hallie, and she smiles as she sees Hallie exchanging words with Carl. The silly little four year old. She had learned that when your little, it's a lot more easier to talk to people then it is when you're younger. You have no regrets, no faults…you're just little. That's what makes it easy. And obviously Hallie was taking advantage of that right then. She chuckles as she sees her making expressions with her hands to describe something. She always did that with her hands.

She looks to her right and sees that Crackers was treading steadily next to her, his rope in her hand so he wouldn't get spooked off my something and run away. She couldn't afford to lose Crackers. She liked him too much. Walking along the road, a sudden thought came to her mind.

"You know," she says lowly to Daryl. "That last time we were lead to a supposed safe place we almost became dinner. Are we sure this won't happen again?" she asks worriedly.

"Last time we were with strangers," he comes back. "This time we're with people we know well. Ain't nothin' bad gonna happen to ya or the kids." She raises an eyebrow.

"Don't count out Crackers," she says, placing a hand on the horses back slightly. "He's part of the family too," she adds. Daryl chuckles at this.

"And Crackers," he says. She smiles and nods, looking in front of her. She turns to see Jill looking at her and Annie offers her a bright smile, to which she returns. She turns back to Rick and Annie sighed happily again. She felt like the weight of the world was being lifted off her shoulders at this moment. She felt like she could fly again and not having anything pull her down, more specifically a walker. She just prayed that this place wouldn't end up being another place like Walt and Patty's. She didn't need to put the kids in that danger.

A sudden surge of fear surges through her. Joel was part of Walt and Patty's group. He was for sure looking for her with the rest of this group. Daryl as well. What if they found her? What if they found the kids and took them? What if they found the safe place and shot everyone up? She feels her hands begin the shake at the thought.

She shakes her head. Right now was not the time to be thinking about that sort of stuff. For the moment, she was just happy she was getting her family to a safe place and the idea that her best friend was alive. She looks at Kelly and notices she was just walking forward. Not really saying anything at all. She furrows her brow and pulls her back slightly. Kelly looks at her with wide eyes for a second before they went back to their original size.

Annie knew why. She knew these girls had a tough past. But she would never lay a hand on them. She smiles small at the girl and looks at her confused.

"Are you ok, Kelly? You seem a little down," she asks. Kelly shrugs her shoulders and looks down at the ground as she walks.

"I'm ok," she mumbles. Annie raises an eyebrow at her.

"Ok, you're lying," she says obviously. "What's wrong, Kelly?" she asks again. Kelly sighs and looks up at the boy in front of her.

"He almost shot me before!" she whispers fiercely. Annie makes a confused face and looks at Carl.

"Him?" she asks, not believing what she was saying. But Kelly nods at this.

"He had his gun out and everything! I mean, it was pointed at the ground but still!" Annie chuckles and leans down to her.

"Sweetie, he probably thought you were a walker for a second, but then he saw you were just an adorable little girl." Kelly smiles at this. "You would have been fine. And you'll be ok now! We're going to a new place where we'll be safe," she persists. Kelly bites her lip.

"Do you think it'll really be safe?" she asks. "Away from the monsters?" Annie looks into the woods for a second, thinking how to reply, when she just comes out and says it to her.

"Yeah, we'll be ok. I know we will. And if something happens, then we'll get through it." Annie looks up and she sees the truck that they had taken. She now understood why they knew they could take the horse. It was huge. It was like an army truck. They could easily fit the horse in there. "I'm guessing that's the truck?" she asks. Jill nods and comes over to her.

"Rick, start it up!" she says. He nods and goes to the driver's seat. "Can fit plenty of stuff in here. Are you ok sitting in the back? Because there's like, no room in the front for you people sit in. As much as I want to with you," she says, throwing an arm around Annie's shoulder. Annie chuckles and shakes her head.

"It's fine. We can fit in the back. Daryl, can you help me get the kids up?" she asks. He nods and comes over to Kelly who was having trouble getting on the platform. Annie goes over to Hallie and picks her up, placing her on the floor, and then climbs in herself. Daryl climbs in after her and she feels the trucks engine come to life under her. She sees Jill go into the driver's seat and smiles at her.

"Ready to go?" she asks. Annie chuckles.

"Ready to fly," she says back, and Jill laughs, going into the seat. Daryl raises an eyebrow at her.

"Ready to fly?" he asks. She smiles, sitting down near the edge, with one of her legs hanging off.

"We used to say that to each other when we were younger," she says. Hallie looks at the seat and smiles.

"She's nice," she says quietly. Annie laughs.

"Yeah, she is."

* * *

Annie heard a door slam and her eyes snapped open. Apparently she had fallen asleep on the ride to the safe zone. She looks to her right and sees that Hallie had fallen asleep as well, her head leaning on her arm for support. She looks around and sees that they were all asleep. It must have been a long journey to get from the house to the safe zone. She wondered where they were.

"Are we here?" Kelly asks while wiping the sleep from her eyes. Daryl looks around and gets up on the platform of the truck, looking out. He sees what was in front of the truck and his face has an impressed look on it.

"Yeah, we are," he states. Annie furrows her brow. She gently places a hand on Hallie shoulder and shakes it, hoping her eyes would flutter open. And they did. She groans in protest. Annie smiles.

"We're here, sweetie," she says. Hallie nods and leans against the side of the truck, still trying to wake up. Annie gets up and looks at where the safe zone was, and it surprised to see a huge gate made of who the hell knows what going around it. And for the first time in forever, she was aching to know what was behind it.

"Ogling at the place, Annabeth?" she hears Jill ask. Annie cringes at the name and Daryl looks at her confused.

"Annabeth?" he asks. Annie turns to him and smiles sheepishly.

"Annabeth is my real name, but I hated it since I was younger, so people call me Annie. It just feels weird to be called that," she says to Jill. "Which means you stop it," she warns to her. Jill chuckles at her friend, shaking her head.

"Yeah, fat chance that's going to happen," she says to her. They steps out from the truck and Annie sees that Crackers was being led to the gate. She didn't mind. He was great with people. Just didn't want to end up horse meat, she guessed. When they get to the doors, they are greeted by two faces on top of the gates, both in what seemed to be lawn chairs.

"We send you out the get food and you bring back people, Jill? The hell?" one of them asks. Jill flips him the bird.

"Screw off, Nickson," she says angrily. "They just so happen to be people we know," she says smugly. "Blake said we could bring back anyone who needs help and they did!" Annie chuckles quietly.

"Actually we didn't, but thanks anyway," she says under her breath. Nickson, or at least that's what Annie heard, snorts at her statement.

"Whatever you say, Jill," he says. The other person comes forward, and Annie sees that it was a woman. Blonde curly hair, green eyes, and a slim body. She kind of reminded Annie of a Barbie. You know, if she didn't have a rifle in her hand and her hair up in a high ponytail with combat boots on.

"Are they clean?" she asks in a fluttery voice. She sounded like a kid. Jill nods.

"Yeah, they're clean. Come on, they have kids," she states. Barbie, at least that was what she was calling her, nods and climbs down the ladder and opens up the gates slowly. Nickson glares at her with rage.

"Are we really letting in people we have no clue about?" he asks angrily, coming down on the ground as well. Jill glares at him.

"Oh would you shut up, Nickson?" she says. "Where's Blake? And the rest of them?" she asks. He nods in the direction of the end. There was large building with some sort of made flag on it. Annie would look at it later.

"Town Hall," he says. "Had a meeting with some of the others. Should be ending soon. I'm sure all you want to do is screw him after a hard days night," he states smugly. Jill rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, I want to. Go suck a dick, Nickson. Thanks Nicky," she says to the woman. Barbie nods. Nicky. It didn't suit her. Annie would call her Barbie. Nothing else. It was just too damn tempting. Jill turns to them. "I'm sure you want to see the rest of your group, Daryl. They're practically all here. Rick, can you take Daryl and I'll take the kids and Annie? I'm sure he wants to see them." Rick nods, a small smile on his face.

"I'm sure too," he says to Daryl. "Come on. They'll be so happy," he says. Daryl takes a glance at Annie before following Rick to who the hell knows where in the town. Annie sighs and turns to Jill who was smirking at her.

"What?" she asks. Jill laughs and shakes her head.

"Nothing," she says. "Come on. I'll show you your house that you're staying. Crackers it already there." Kelly and Hallie's eyes widen.

"We get another house?" Kelly asks amazed. Jill nods, smiling at the small girl.

"Yeah, you do. We're not making you live in a tent. Goodness, no," she says chuckling. "Running water too," she says to Annie, but the kids heard and take off. They hadn't had a real bath or shower in ages. Jill's eyes widen. "Hey slow down!" she yells at them, but Annie chuckles.

"They're just excited," she says. Jill smiles.

"Like Daryl is to see you?" she asks, and Annie smacks her shoulder. Jill laughs and shake her head. "I don't know what I need Blake for now. I got you!" she jokes. Annie looks at her with a playful glare, but a smile on her face.

"Stop," she says, pushing her shoulder. "Nothing like that's gonna happen," she adds on. Jill rolls her eyes.

"I'm just shitting you," she chuckles, pushing her back. But she leans down slightly and smiles. "But you do know if we did do that our boyfriends would think it's the hottest thing ever," she says in a low voice. Annie burst out laughing at her friends statement.

"Oh my God, be quiet!"

* * *

Daryl was looking around the zone that they had taken too and mentally made notes to check everything out, just to make sure the area wasn't sketchy. He trusted his friend, but at the time and the place, Annie and the kids mattered more to him than anyone his life. The building Rick and Carl were leading him to looked like it had once been some sort of clothing store, because he could see some broken mannequins in the window, but it was nothing but a building now, all the clothes gone.

Daryl looks at the door and sees it open. And out stepped someone he hadn't seen in such a long time.

"Rick, you're-" The man stops short when he sees Daryl. He comes up to him to make sure he's real and chuckles when he finally realizes he was ok. "Glad to see you're alive, man," Tyreese says, nodding at him. Daryl nods as well.

"You too," he says, turning to the building.

"Let's let everyone know you're here," Rick says, going into the building. The group that was gathered around a table looks up at him. " 'M back," he says. "And brought company," he says, moving aside to show Tyreese who was coming in, and Daryl last, who sort of stood at the entrance a bit awkwardly.

There was an arrange of reactions in the room. Maggie came forward and hugged him tightly while Glenn smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder as a sign of respect for being out there this long. Sasha and Michonne both offer him a huge grin and pat him on the back. Bob nods at him with a sign of respect. And Daryl's eyes travel to the woman that was staring in shock at him.

Carol didn't know what to think. There was Daryl, right in front of her. He was ok. He was alive. She runs forward and embraces him in a very tight hug, one that would surely suffocate someone. Daryl felt kind of uncomfortable with her on him. He wasn't used to all this physical contact, except with Annie. But he tolerated it. But with Carol it just didn't feel right anymore. Especially after what she did to those people.

"I missed you so much," she whispers sadly. Daryl doesn't reply, just sort of awkwardly hugs her. Truth be told, he didn't really remember who Carol was while at the house. All thoughts of the past just sort of seemed to slip from him when he was there. Now it was back. He pulls back from the hug and forces a sort of grimace on his face at her. He could see she looked confused at the welcoming but she let it go. He was probably just overwhelmed.

"How did you survive out there for this long, dude?" Glenn asks coming up to him. Daryl shrugs his shoulders slightly.

"I wasn't alone," he says. "I had Annie." Michonne raises an eyebrow.

"Annie?" she asks in a monotone voice. Daryl nods, no a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, Annie," he says. "Kept me going for the past few months. Knows her shit. Plenty," he adds on. He clears his throat a bit and looks at Rick. "Where's this Blake guy? Can we talk to him?"

"You can talk right now," he hears a deep voice say behind him. Daryl turns around and sees someone that was about his age, his height, and had practically the same clothes he had on. Hell, he could be his twin if he wasn't black. He had a rifle in one hand and knifes on his belt. "I'm Blake. I'm guessing you're the man Nicky told me about?" he asks. Daryl nods.

"Yeah, came here with-"

"Your girlfriend, I know," he says, warm smile on his face. Daryl hears someone softly gasp behind him and only knew it was Carol who did. But he ignored it for now. To his left he heard Glenn mutter something.

"Bout time he got some," he says. Maggie glares at him and smacks the back of his head. Glenn rubs it with a vengeance. "I was kidding!" he says. Daryl chose to ignore the statement.

"Don't worry about anything. Annie's all settled in. I heard she and Jill were friends once, right?" Daryl nods.

"Still act like they haven't been separated," he says. Blake laughs, his deep voice echoing the room.

"Ah, well. Some people have that sort of relationship. Dinner's all good and ready to eat. You, Annie, and the kids can come later so you have some time to explore the grounds."

"Kids?" Sasha asks.

"Found them huddled up. Couldn't just leave them there," Daryl huffs, already tired of all the questions. "Can't thank ya enough for letting us in. Especially with the horse and all that," he chuckles a bit at the end. Blake waves his hand dismissively.

"It's all we can do to keep people alive. I hope you join us for dinner," he says, starting to walk out of the shop. "Oh," he adds, turning around to face him. "Welcome to Aasim."

* * *

Annie looks around the house and sighs as she hears the water go on. Kelly and Hallie were taking turns taking a shower. She knew they were excited to finally have hot water after everything that had happened to them.

The house was nice. It was a large one. Two stories, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Large kitchen and dining room. Nice living room with a fireplace. Maybe they really could make a home here. Maybe they could actually be safe.

She glances outside the window and sees Crackers galloping around the backyard. It was huge. She could get used to living in this place.

Hearing the door close, she looks over and sees Daryl coming in through the door, leaning his crossbow against the side panel. She smiles at him. She could get used to that too.

"Did you see everyone?" she asks. He nods and comes over to her.

"Yeah, they're all good." He looks around. "Where's the kids?" he asks. She points upstairs.

"Taking turns with the shower. Want to use up the hot water," she says. "Haven't had a shower in ages," she murmurs. "We could actually be safe here. Nothing bad could happen. We could be happy," she adds, looking out the window and leaning on it. She feels Daryl's arms encircle her waist and she smiles at him, turning around to fully see his body.

"It looks fine to me," he says.

"Did you talk to Blake?" she asks. He nods.

"Yeah. Seems ok. Never be too sure, though," he states. She rolls her eyes.

"Just be happy, if only for this moment. Just do it," she says to him. He chuckles and connects her lips to his. She sighs into the kiss and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "I love you," she whispers against his lips. He pulls back and places his forehead against hers in a loving gesture.

"I love ya, too," he says back. She smiles and looks out the window, but nearly misses something from the distance. "What?" he asks.

"I think I'm seeing things," she chuckles, shaking her head. "Thought I saw something. Let's see if the girls are ready and we can head down to dinner."

* * *

**Review? :)**


	24. Carol

**A/N: First off, thank you so much for all the new reviews and followers and few favorites! I love that so much are reviewing now! It's making me so happy! I have to make this chapted quick because I have a performance tonight that I can't be late for so don't expect this chapter to be over 3500 because I need to get going soon lol. And it takes me a long time. Second, I've gotten a few people saying the scene from Chapter 10 in from the Walking Dead video game, and it is, but I couldn't think of the perfect scene so I just went with that and incorporated my own characters and such. Sorry lol just wanted to clarify stuff. **

**On with the story!**

* * *

**When she was just a girl****  
She expected the world****  
But it flew away from her reach****  
And the bullets catch in her teeth****  
Life goes on, it gets so heavy****  
The wheel breaks the butterfly****  
Every tear a waterfall****  
In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes****  
In the night the stormy night away she'd fly**

**And dreams of**

**Para-para-paradise****  
Para-para-paradise****  
Para-para-paradise****  
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh**

_**-Paradise (Coldplay)**_

* * *

Annie had left the house later in the evening with the kids. She had insisted that Daryl leave and go see his group that he hadn't seen in a long time. She knew he had missed them deep down, and that it was time for him to reconnect. She wasn't going to leave the kids by themselves in a brand new place anyway. That would just be silly. She wasn't that stupid.

She couldn't get her mind off of what she saw when she looked out the window. She knew it had to be a person. But she didn't even know if it was a female or male. Hell, it could have been a walker for all she knew. Or she was just going crazy and she was seeing things. No, she knew she saw something. She knew there had to be something there.

But at the moment, she didn't mind. For the moment, she was glancing around the town they were in that was deemed the safe zone. Like Daryl said, the place was nice. It seemed like a nice little town before. They were situated in a small neighborhood that was on the outskirts of the main town area. Inside, she could see there used to be a movie theater, some restaurants, a few shops, and some townhouses that she knew people must have stayed in. A town fountain and a town hall, where she had been told dinner was being served.

She looked at Kelly and Hallie who were marveling the place in wonder, staring around at all the buildings and few people that littered the streets. Annie only guessed that that was normal to be walking around after dinner.

She looks at the town hall and sees a giant, handmade flag there that she studied for a bit. It had a blue border around it, and red and yellow dots that littered the white background. And in the middle were two initials back to back with each other. AS. She had been told that the town was called Aasim. What an interesting name. She was going to ask Jill about that later.

Kelly and Hallie run up the steps of the town hall with Annie right on their heels, making sure they didn't get out of sight. She couldn't afford to lose them at this point in time. Opening the doors, she is immediately met with someone bumping into her. She falls back into the wall and looks at the person that had made her step back. The man smiles charmingly at her.

"I'm sorry, my fault," he says. "I'm Blake." Annie's eyes widen a bit. THIS was Jill's boyfriend? This was the leader of this place? Jesus, if it wasn't for his skin he and Daryl could have been twins in another life. She smiles at him.

"Annie," she says, shaking his hand. He makes a sound of approval.

"So you're the famous Annie Jill talks about. You're very special to her," he says. She nods, a slight blush on her face.

"Yeah, and she's special to me. Grew up together, you know?" she says. Blake nods knowingly.

"Some people just have that sort of connection. Obviously you and Jill do." She smiles.

"I was wondering. What does Aasim mean? Honest question, because it sounds like a weird name to be naming a town." Blake laughs.

"It's no problem. It means 'protector' in Latin. Just thought it would be a good name for a safe zone. Plus it sounds pretty epic." Annie chuckles at this.

"Yeah, it does," she replies and looks around. "Oh crap, where did Kelly and Hallie go?" she mumbles. Blake points to the room down the hall.

"I saw the two of 'em run into the cafeteria. Looks like they were looking forward to seeing all the toehr kids here." Annie's eyes widen.

"There's other kids?" she asks happily. Blake nods.

"Plenty. Some their age, some older, few babies. We pretty much have a supply of everyone here. Come on, let's head on in," he says, waving his hand in the direction of the room. She nods and follows him, examining the area with her eyes.

"How many people do you have here?" she asks. He shrugs.

"We haven't kept count in a while, but I'd say by now it's around 150." She whistles, impressed.

"Damn, a lot of people. How do you keep everyone in order?" she asks.

"We have weekly meetings to discuss certain aspects to keep the place going. Never let one hair out of line," he replies. She nods.

"So this place is secure?" she asks. He nods.

"Very. Don't worry. I'm sure you and the kids will be fine," he says, opening up the door for her to go in. She sighs a bit and nods.

"I'll hold you to that," she says. He chuckles.

"I never break my promises," he states, going back out into the hallway once she was situated inside. She glances around and looks at all the people. They were all chatting, talking, laughing, like there was nothing out there to be afraid of. Like everything was ok. They seemed calm and relaxed. She looks to where the food was and saw that they were barbequing something.

She hadn't had a hot dog in who knew how long.

Walking over, she grabs a plate to get one and gets on line, and feels someone behind her. She turns around and sees Jill looking at her with a grin. Annie rolls her eyes at her. "So, what do you think?" Jill asks. "Like the place?" The line begins to move.

"I like the place a lot. But you know what I've noticed? We have quite the taste in guys," she says. She walks up to one of the dishes and grabs a hotdog with desire, placing it on the paper plate she had in her hands. "I think that's a reason why we get along so well."

"What do you mean?" she asks. Annie looks at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Blake?" she says. "He literally is like the twin of Daryl. Except black." Jill chuckles.

"Yeah, we do have the same test then. Both like 'em dirty, dangerous, and downright amazing in the sack." Annie's grin expands her face as she tries to hold in the laugh that was dying to come out.

"Can you not say that?" she says to Jill happily, shaking her head. "We are in a room with children, Jill!" Jill snorts.

"Please, that means nothing." Annie rolls her eyes.

"Whatever you say. I'm hungry and I'm sitting down." Jill chuckles and looks over to the left where all the tables were, and laughs when she sees what she does.

"Looks like the kids are begging for you to come over," she whispers, and Annie looks to where she was looking. There was Kelly and Hallie, sitting at a table with Daryl, and Hallie was practically falling out of her chair waving her over. Annie chuckles at the small girl and turns to Jill.

"This isn't a dream right? I'm not dreaming?" Jill smiles at her softly and nods.

"No, Annie. This isn't a dream. This is real. I'm real. And all of this is real. Just like this is real," she says, punching her shoulder. Annie glares at her and rubs where she touched her skin.

"That hurt!" she says. Jill chuckles.

"Just to show you it's all real," she says. Annie rolls her eyes and begins to walk over to where the kids and Daryl were.

"Ah, screw you," she says to her, and Jill laughs at her statement. Annie looks over and sees that it wasn't just Daryl and the kids, but a bunch of other people as well. Rick was over there. She could only guess that whole table must have been Daryl's group before all of this. She suddenly felt a piercing feeling in her gut that he would just up and leave her to be with them again, but she shook it away. He love her and the kids. He wouldn't just leave them.

"Annie, here!" Hallie says. Annie chuckles and sits down between Daryl and Hallie, smiling at the little girl.

"Don't fall out of your seat sweetie," she says to her and turns to her food. "Finally, some real food," she says with a groan. Daryl looks at her with a raised eyebrow,

"And deer isn't?" he asks. She rolls her eyes again.

"You know what I mean, Daryl," she says, stuffing her face with a bit of her hot dog. Oh, sweet Jesus it felt so good.

"So you're the famous Annie," she hears from opposite her. She looks up and sees a woman with short brown hair that reached her shoulder and was sitting next to an Asian man. Annie swallows what she was eating and nods.

"Yeah," she says a little unsure.

"Well, I should thank you for keeping him alive all this time," she says. Annie laughs.

"Oh, don't thank me. He's the one who has gotten all the meat," she says. But the woman shakes her head at that.

"No, he's still ok. And that's great." Annie smiles at her,

"Well, thank you then," she says. The woman nods.

"You're welcome. I'm Maggie," she says. "And this is Glenn," she adds, pointing to the Asian man that was currently stuffing his face with food. He hears his name and looks up at Annie. He then offers her a grin, and Annie chuckles when she sees that his mouth was full of food and his teeth had little pieces of it in them. "Glenn, mouth closed!" Maggie says to him, and he immediately closes his mouth at her statement. Annie laughs.

She didn't know why she was so scared. She knew from that point on she would like these people

* * *

Annie was later where they kept an infirmary for all the sick people and injured. She had known a little first aid before all of this and wondered if she could offer a bit of help in that area. She needed to make herself useful here.

She had met almost all of Daryl's group at dinner. And most of them were quite nice. Of course she met Maggie and Glenn, and she already knew she would like them. Then there was Rick, but she had already met him, and he was nice guy. Then there was Tyreese, a big black dude, but she could tell that he was tough, and his sister Sasha, who was with this guy named Bob. Both seemed like ok people, smart. And apparently Maggie had a sister, but she just wasn't there to eat. Beth, was her name. Maybe she would meet her in the infirmary. And there was Michonne, who had a katana, and literally looked like the female version of a badass.

The only person that she was wary of was Carol. Granted, she had known earlier on that she wasn't the brightest of bulbs, having known what she had done back at the prison. But it was just the way she greeted her. She simple gave her sort of a forced smile and looked back down at her food. And Annie could see a glare on her face from time to time.

But at that moment, she didn't mind. All she needed to do was to get down there and see how she could help in the future.

Walking into the small building, she looks around and sees that there were several cots lined out and some medical supplies strewn everywhere. In baskets and in bookcases. From what she could see, it looked like an ok place to heal up. She walks into a room and sees a woman with straight, blond-ish hair, kind of brown, and tan skin taking care of a little kid's knee. Hearing someone come, she looks up and smiles at the new person.

"Hi," she says. "You must be one of the new people I'm hearing about." Annie nods.

"Yeah," she replies. The woman finishes up the bandage on the boy's knee and smiles at him.

"Ok, Ryder. You're good to go. Just please be careful next time, ok buddy?" she asks. He nods and gets off the cot he was sitting on.

"I swear I'll be," he says. The woman nods.

"Good. Now go and see your parents and tell them you're ok," she says. Ryder nods and runs off to go outside while the woman chuckles and gets up from her spot on the ground. "I'm Rachel. You should be resting, why are you here?" she asks. Annie chuckles.

"I just wanted to see of what service I could be in the future for here. I know a bit of first aid and I could help heal up some kids." Rachel nods.

"Well, I'm sure you can help out every once and a while. I heard you're quite good in scavenging stuff. They might want you for that as well." Annie raises an eyebrow.

"Word spreads around that fast in this town?" she asks. Rachel nods, laughing.

"Yeah it does." Annie shrugs her shoulders again.

"Well, besides that I want to help here." Rachel nods again.

"Then we'll find some times you can help out here. Everyone does every once and a while. But for now I'm gonna head off to go and get some dinner. Been in here all day and I am TIRED!" she says. She turns to a back room and calls into it. "Beth, I'm heading down to the hall!" she states.

"Ok!" the person states back. Annie looks to the back and tries to see the girl. That had to be the person from Daryl's group.

"If you want you can look around and associate yourself with the supplies and where everything is," Rachel says, placing her coat on. Annie nods.

"I think I'll do just that," she replies.

"When you're done, tell Beth to shut off the lights. And say if she doesn't I'll find her again. Always forgets, that one," she says, walking out the door. Annie chuckles.

"I will!" she says to her back. Annie hears the door close and she looks around the room, examining all the nooks and cranies that had stuff jammed into them. She sees bandages and some pills everywhere. Plenty of supplies. She was about to take one of the bottles out but stopped when she sees a blonde head pop out of the back room. Why were there so many blondes here? Was there no brunettes?

"Oh, you must be part of that group that came today," she says. Annie nods and comes up to her. She sees that she was holding a baby in her arms. That must have been Ricks kid that she was told about. "I'm Beth," she states.

"Annie, and I know." Beth raises an eyebrow.

"You know me?" she asks. Annie nods.

"I brought Daryl with me," she states, and Beth's eyes widen. "Introduced me to the group. Your sister's quite nice." Beth smiles.

"Daryl's here?" she asks. Annie nods. "Wow, I've been so busy that I haven't even known. I should go say hello." Annie chuckles and comes up next to her.

"I'm guessing this is Judith?" she asks. Beth nods.

"Yeah, and it's becoming a bit of pain to get her to sleep as of late. Always cries," she says. Annie bites her lip.

"Well, you can go have a little reunion and I could try to get her to sleep," she says. Beth looks at her with hopeful eyes.

"Really? That would be great! I don't want to trouble you if its bad or something." Annie waves her hand dismissively.

"It's nothing. I'm here to help," she says. Beth smiles.

"Ok, I'll be right back," she says, handing Judith over to Annie, who easily holds her in her arms. "Don't worry about having her try to get to sleep. It takes forever," she says, walking out the door. Annie chuckles and looks down at the baby who as looking at her with eyes full of wonder.

"Hey, Judith," she says softly. "You've been through a lot, huh? I can tell. Can't get to sleep? I bet I can help that." She rocks the baby slowly back and forth, and sighs as the little girl stays quiet in her arms. Thinking of a song, she adjusted a little to fit the little girl. She sang it softly.

'_You are my world, my darling_

_What a wonderful world I see._

_You are the song I'm singing._

_Sweet little Judy,' _

She sees the baby's eyes close softly and smiles in triumph when she realizes that she had made the baby fall asleep. Maybe she should use that to make the kids head to dreamland back at the house. It took them hours to get to sleep on a normal day.

"So," she hears from behind her, and Annie whips around slowly, as not to wake Judith, and sees Carol there in the doorway. "You came with Daryl, huh?" she asks. Annie suddenly felt quite nervous, but stayed where she was. She wouldn't be afraid.

"Yeah, I did," she says back. "He's been a real light for me these past few months. The kids as well," she adds on. Carol nods slowly.

"Well, I'll let you know that he's quite happy to see his group again," she states. Annie nods.

"Yeah, I know. They're all very nice people. You included." Carol chuckles.

"No need for flattery, sweetie. I already don't like you." Annie's brow furrows.

"Why?" she asks. Carol rolls her eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asks. "You're with Daryl. But I can tell you that won't be for long." Annie's eyes narrow at this. Ok, if she actually screwed up her life and took Daryl…she was not going to let this happen.

"What do you mean by that?" she asks.

"I mean," Carol starts, coming closer to her and the baby. "Whatever you and Daryl have been through in the past few months is nothing compared to what we've been through. Or what he's been through with the group. He'll just eventually dump you on the side for us. I'm just waiting for that day." Annie stands her ground.

"Ok, so I can see you love Daryl. But I don't think he'll just leave me. He loves me. He said it himself. He loves the kids as well. And I don't know what has been going on in your mind as of late, but I can tell you want me gone. But I'm not going anywhere." She sees Carol's confidence flicker a bit at the idea of Daryl loving someone else, but she keeps going.

"You say that now, honey. But sooner or later you'll just be gone." Annie glares at her.

"I highly doubt that." She looks out the window and sees Beth coming back. "I suggest you leave before anything else bad happens. I don't need Judy to be woken up again." Carol starts to say something but closes her mouth. She sends one last piercing glare at Annie and storms out of the building. Annie lets all the tension out of her shoulders and shakes her head. That was intense.

"Hey, I'm back!" she hears. Beth steps into the room and sees Judith sound asleep. "Wow, you got her to go to sleep. I'm impressed. What's your method?" she asks. Annie chuckles and hands the baby back to her arms.

"I just sang her something and she was out like a light. Sing her more lullabies and she'll be sleeping." Beth nods and smiles at the small girl.

"Amazing," she mumbles, rocking her back and forth like Annie had done. Annie begins to leave when she hears her voice again. "Are you ok? You seem sort of tense." Annie turns back and forces a small smile.

"I'm fine. Just tired, I guess." Beth nods

"Well, you don't have to be now. Thanks for taking care of her." Annie nods.

"No problem. Rachel told me to tell you to turn off the lights when you're done. And if you forgot she would find you." Beth laughs.

"Oh, that woman. Don't worry, I won't this time." Annie chuckles.

"Have a nice night." She hears Beth reply a 'You too!' and closes the door behind her, on her way back to the house. Carol's words were still in her mind But she couldn't worry about them now. She wouldn't let that woman near her family.

* * *

**A/N: That was longer then intended XD And also the lullaby she was singing was from the beginning of a song from the little mermaid 2. I just switched it around a bit. And I know Carol may seem crazy, but I'm making her that way XD**

**Review? :)**


	25. You're My Sister

**A/N: Thank you so much for the new reviews and followers and favorites! It feels great! This chapter I kind of don't know where I'm going with it. It just sort of popped up in my head, so I'm taking this slow lol**

* * *

**Your little hands wrapped around my finger  
And it's so quiet in the world tonight  
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming  
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light**

**To you, everything's funny  
You got nothing to regret  
I'd give all I have, honey  
If you could stay like that**

**Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up  
Just stay this little  
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up  
It could stay this simple**

**I won't let nobody hurt you  
Won't let no one break your heart  
No, no one will desert you  
Just try to never grow up, never grow up**

_**-Never Grow Up (Taylor Swift)**_

* * *

Annie glances around Aasim the next day while watching Hallie and Kelly go off with the other kids. She knew they wanted time to play with the others considering they hadn't seen any other kids their age in who knows how long. Everyone was out and doing their jobs. She noticed some people from Daryl's group doing what they had to do, where they had to be.

Looking back to where she was last night, she realizes that she could be helping out some people instead of just standing around. About to walk over, she looks at Jill and smiles. She was playing with a little girl in a white sundress. She had blonde hair that was up in a high ponytail and her skin was light, not like Jill's tan skin that she had.

She waves the little girl to go off and play with the other kids on the playground and she nods, running to the slide where Hallie was. Jill smiles off at her and stands up, watching her go. Annie raises an eyebrow, walking over to her. She stands next to her while she looks off at the little girl. She clears her throat and Jill looks over at her surprised.

"Have a little girl, huh?" she asks slyly. Jill laughs, shaking her head.

"No, she's not mine…well, not biologically and uh-" Annie rolls her eyes at her.

"It's ok to admit she's yours, Jill," she says to her. Jill looks down and sighs.

"She's an orphan," she says quietly. Annie's eyes widen.

"She is?" Jill nods sadly.

"Yeah. I've been with her since the beginning. I found her in a baby's carriage in the middle of the woods with two dead bodies near it. There was a note that said 'Please take care of her. We couldn't.' And I've been doing that." Annie nods, a sad look on her face.

"Jeez. That's tough. How old is she?" she asks. Jill shrugs.

"When I found her she looked like she was barely a year old. So I'm guessing she's about three now. She looks it." Annie nods, looking at the little girl.

"Yeah, she does. What's her name?" Jill smiles.

"Ariel," she replies. Annie chuckles. She thought back to the orphanage and how she and Jill used to watch 'The Little Mermaid' almost every night when they were younger.

"So, like the little mermaid?" she asks. Jill laughs.

"Basically. I showed her a picture of it and she smiled at it when she was younger. So I named her Ariel. I thought it suited her." Annie snorts.

"She looks nothing like the girl but whatever you say," she chuckles, looking over at all the kids playing. She sees Kelly and Hallie talking to Ariel, and then Hallie leading Ariel up the ladder so they could go down the slide. Kelly runs off to the other side and begins to talk to a girl that looked like her age, with short black hair and green eyes. She sort of looked like a mini female version of Harry Potter. God, she missed reading those books. A sudden thought crosses over her mind. "Hey, has Blake been taking care of her as well?" she asks. Jill shrugs her shoulders.

"I guess. He feeds them and protects them. Isn't that all they have to do?" she asks. Annie raises bot her eyebrows this time and just stares at her.

"No…that's not what they only do," she practically yells, but lowers her voice to not attract attention. "Fathers are there for kids when they need them. When they need a shoulder to cry on. When they need help to know what to say or just need someone to sleep on. They are there to love them. Not just to give them food. Not just to protect them." Jill glares at her.

"You've never even had a father! How would you know?! At least I HAD a FAMILY!" she whispers fiercely at her. Annie's eyes widen slightly at this, feeling tears prickle slightly at the corner of her eyes, but shakes her head.

"I may not have been adopted, but I did get out. And I've seen real fathers. The one you had must not have been good enough. And I have a family, thank you." Jill snorts.

"What? That redneck and two kids that aren't even yours?" Annie feels anger start to travel through her body, but holds back the punch she wanted the throw at Jill. She was being irrational and stupid.

"Yes, they are," she grinds through her teeth. "More of a family I have ever had in my life. I love them with all my life." She places a hand on Jill's shoulder. "Jill, you're my family too. You were my first friend. My first person I ever felt good about. Not to mention you were sort of my first love," she chuckles. Jill snickers and looks down at the ground. Annie's eyes narrowed. That always got Jill. Something was wrong. "Jill, you always laugh at that. What's wrong?" Jill looks away. "Jill you can always tell me."

"I can't," she whispers, looking back up. Annie sees that she had a few tears streaming down her face. Annie gives her a stern glare and places both of her hands on her shoulders.

"Jill, you're terrible at lying. We both know that. Now TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON," she whispers fiercely.

"It's…It's Blake," she says finally. Annie looks closer.

"What about him?"

"He…He hasn't been treating me right," she mumbles, looking down. Annie squeezes her shoulders that causes her to look back up.

"What do you mean?" she hisses.

"He's been…touching me when I don't want him to. Been…hurting me…and he says if he didn't get to me he would get to Ariel next," she cries, clinging on Annie's shoulders. She felt Jill shake from the sobs that racked her body and Annie felt her arms tighten around Jill's waist, pulling her closer to her. Blake was beating her?

She looks over and sees him come out. He acted so…sweet…the other night. So active to protect someone, anyone. Now that she knew this. He looks over at her and waves good morning. She offers a forced smile at him and pulls back from Jill, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"He's out here right now. But of don't worry. This isn't the end of this. I'll talk to him." Jill's eyes widen and she shakes her head.

"No! Don't say anything to him or else he'll try for you next and-" Annie places a hand on her mouth, stopping her in her speech.

"Jill, I care about you just as much as I care about Daryl and the kids. You're my family. I love you. You're my sister." Jill looks up at this and smiles. "I don't need this for you. I'm going to stop this. You just wait. You and Ariel will be safe." Jill begins to speak when the devil himself comes over.

"Good morning, ladies," Blake says, coming next to Jill and placing am arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Jill practically looks like she was about to throw up and Annie offers her a smile to comfort her slightly. She was not going to let anymore of this happen. Not while she was still alive and standing.

"Good morning, Blake," she says to him. "Are any groups heading out today to go and get supplies? Perhaps maybe someone to help?" Blake shrugs.

"Anywhere that needs help you can help. I'm sure you can help anyone around here. Daryl told me you have a lot of skill." She nods.

"I do. I'm happy to offer them to anyone who needs them." Blake nods.

"As for people heading out today, we already have a team going to a mall near us to bring back some supplies for us. Any suggestions?" She shakes her head still keeping her façade up so he wouldn't see she would kill him in his sleep.

"No, but might I know who's heading out today?" she asks.

"Well, Nickson and Nicky are heading out, as well as Glenn, Ping, Michael, Rick, and Daryl." Her eyes widen at this. He hadn't told her he was leaving!

"He's going!?" she asks, now a bit scared at this. Blake chuckles and places a hand on her shoulder. She immediately stiffens under his touch and looks at him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's tough." She looks at him and notices something pass through his eyes that she really did not like, but she dismissed it for that moment. "I'm pretty sure they haven't left yet. They're right by the town hall." She needed to see him.

"Thanks for telling me!" she replies quickly. "I'll see you later Jill," she says to her, and offers her one last smile. Jill forces one on her face and Annie takes off. Before she could run through town hall to get to them, she offers one last glance back at them and sees they were talking, and Jill had a look of pure discomfort on her face. Annie would not let anymore of this happen.

* * *

When Annie makes it to the other side, she sees the group that was heading out to wherever they were going getting ready to leave. She walks over and sees that Daryl was talking to Rick about something, but she immediately comes up next to him and pulls him back, surprising him. He glances back at her and sees that she was up. He didn't think she would be up this early.

"I'm sorry, Rick. But I have to have a little bit of talk with Daryl right now." Rick sees the small look of panic come over Daryl's features but chuckles and steps away.

"Talk all you want, Annie," he says, walking to the other side of the truck to converse with the others. Daryl glares at him for a moment before turning to Annie.

"Morning," he says cheekily. She glares at him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving with the group to go out today?" she whispers fiercely at him. "I wake up and find you're not there. You can at least tell me this stuff, Dixon!" He rolls his eyes and takes her off to the side where they wouldn't be heard.

"The only reason why I did was because I didn't need ya worrying about me," he states to her, and she places her hands on her hips.

"I always worry!" she says to him. "I'm your girlfriend. Of course I'm going to worry. What about Kelly and Hallie? What if you didn't come back?" she says, feeling her voice crack a bit. "What would I tell them?" she ends in a whisper.

"Ya don't have to tell them anything because I'm comin' back, whether ya like it or not," he says, taking her chin in his hand in tilting her head upward. "So ya don't need to worry about nothin'." She looks up at him and sighs, shaking her head.

"I'm coming with you," she says suddenly, trying to get to the truck, but he holds out a hand to stop her from going anywhere.

"No you're not," he says, pushing her back. She glares at him.

"Why? I could help and-"

"Ya just can't, Annie," he states, taking her back from the truck. She looks at him and sees he really didn't want her to go. For what reason, she had no clue, but she reluctantly nods.

"Fine, I'll stay," she mumbles. "But you better get your ass back here safe," she mumbles. He chuckles and takes her face in his hands and kisses her on the lips, to which she replies happily. The thought of Jill crosses her mind again and she pulls back.

"What's wrong?" he asks seeing her pained face.

"Daryl-"

"Daryl, we have to go!" Nickson yells at him. Nicky knocks him in the side.

"Can't you see they're having an intense conversation?" she says to him. 'Thanks Barbie,' Annie thinks internally. Nickson rolls his eyes.

"Intense conversations won't keep dinner on the table or keep people un-sick." Asshole.

"Tell me later, darlin'," he says to her, kissing her one last time. She sighs into it and when he pulls back she finds herself already missing him. He starts to walk to the truck before she stops him with her voice.

"Hey!" she says to him. He turns around and meets her gaze. "I love you," she says quietly. To what she knew, that was the first time she said it in front of people. He looks down at the ground for a second before looking back up and meeting her gaze again.

"I love ya too," he replies, and walks back over to the truck, going into the passenger seat of the car. Rick smirks at him, having heard they're little conversation. Daryl glares at him and punches his shoulder. "Shut the hell up, man," he mutters. Rick laughs and starts up the car.

"Ready to get this done?" he asks. Daryl nods, placing his feet up on the dashboard.

"Ready," he replies. The truck begins to go off and Annie stares at the dirt it leaves behind. She watches it until it's out of the gates and into the unknown world. She wouldn't stop worrying for a second. Not for Daryl or for Jill.

* * *

The sun had begun to set later in the day, Annie in the infirmary with Rachel and Beth. Annie had noticed that Beth seemed to be on the younger side of things. She looked like she was around nineteen or twenty, maybe twenty one. And she looked like she was taking care of Judith like she was her own. But Annie knew that Judith was Ricks kid.

Annie hears Rachel groan as she gets up from her spot on the floor. She had been looking for the right medicine for this kid the whole day. Annie smirks.

"Been a rough day, huh?" she asks. Rachel shakes her head.

"The roughest," she states. "I think we've had more kids in here today then we have in the past week!" She shakes her head and goes over to one of the cots where some of her supplies lay. "I literally need a day. So much work."

"Yeah, how long have you been in this place?" Annie asks. Rachel shrugs.

"Since the beginning. I was with Blake before all of this, in his group. And then we found Jill and the rest of hers, and then it kind of just developed from there. I've been head nurse in this group from the start." Annie nods and looks back to where she was filling up the bottles.

"Must be hard," she comments. Rachel snorts.

"With all the kids getting injured around here? Oh yeah. Hey, I heard you have a horse. Crackers, his name is?" Beth looks up from feeding Judith.

"You have a horse?" she asks. Annie chuckles and shrugs her shoulders.

"Well, he wasn't mine before all of this. But Daryl and I found him all alone in this old barn or shelter or whatever it was. He's been with me for a couple of months now."

"How'd you name him Crackers?" Rachel asks, chuckling at the name.

"I literally was pulling out a bag of Crackers and I thought it would be a good name for a horse," she laughs. "And it stuck. I guess for the horse as well." Both laugh.

"What does he look like?" Beth asks. Annie shrugs.

"Kind of looks like a horse a knight in shining armor would ride up on. All white and shit." Rachel burst out laughing and lays her head against the cot to catch her breath. Annie looks over with a furrowed brow but an amused smile. "What? What's so funny?" she asks, chuckling slightly. Rachel shakes her head.

"No, no. Just your knight in shining armor doesn't seem to be all that knightly," she chuckles, referring to Daryl. Annie lets a small smirk cross her face at that remark.

"Well…he's my knight. Saved me plenty of times." Beth nods.

"Daryl had a tendency to do that. How did you two even get together in the first place? He doesn't seem like the type to just fall in love. Always so…rough around the edges." Annie snorts at her comment.

"Everyone's able to fall in love. I mean, it wasn't at first sight. I know that. In fact, at first he sort of annoyed me. Underestimated me. But I proved him wrong. Boy did I," she chuckles. Rachel cocks her head a bit.

"Now did you find him or did he find you?" she asks.

"He found me. I was being held by this man because I messed around a bit and he saved me. After that we were together. We didn't actually kiss until like a month later after a lot of stuff happened. But that month was fun. And it's been like that since."

"Have you two done it yet?" Rachel asks. Annie's cheeks redden at the statement.

"Yeah," she mumbles.

"Is he good?" Beth asks. Annie groans and places her head in her hands.

"Yeah," she says a bit louder, and the two girls chuckle at her reaction.

"Just asking," Rachel says, going back to her pills. "And how did you find the kids? I'm sure they're not yours." Annie shakes her head.

"They're not mine. I found them locked up in a closet. Kelly was pointing a gun at me. Thinking I was going to hurt her sister. Those two have a rough past. I guess when Daryl and I came along we sort of fixed it for them." Beth cocks her head.

"What sort of past?" Annie was about to answer when the sound of a baby crying stopped her. Rachel sighs.

"That's Mia," she sighs, shaking her head. Beth gets up.

"I'll take care of her-" But Annie puts an arm out to stop her.

"You already have Judith. I'll get her back to sleep. I got this." Beth smiles at her and nods, and Annie heads off to the other room where they kept the small baby. Rachel had told her they had found her in an abandoned car by herself. The parents must have gotten bit. Or been killed. Either way they kept her alive and brought her here.

She walks inside and sees the baby going back and forth and walks forward, taking her from her crib. Hot tears ran down her eyes. Annie smiles soothingly at the little girl. "It's ok, Mia. Just a nightmare. Everything's fine," she whispers to her. The baby's cries turn into small, choked sobs slowly, and Annie smiles. "There you go. See? Nothing to fear. Want a song?" she says even softer. The little baby looks at her and for a moment a small grin spread across her face. "I'll take that as a yes," she giggles, thinking of something she could sing to the little girl. Hopefully this time Carol wouldn't intrude. At least she hoped.

'_Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting  
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear, Yeah  
Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo  
Here comes the sun, and I say  
It's all right da da da da da da da_

She sees Mia's eyes start to close slightly as she rocks her back and forth, nice and slow, while singing her song.

_Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo  
Here comes the sun, and I say  
It's all right da da da da da da da  
It's all right da da da da da da da_

_Sun, sun, sun, here it comes'_

She felt the baby slump in her arms as she falls asleep to the last notes of the song. She smiles and looks down at her. She had hair just like Annie's. Dark brown and wavy. She looked so adorable. Sometimes she wished she could have one of her own, but she knew that in this world that was nearly impossible. She looks out the window and sees the sun finally setting and sighs. Another day she had survived.

"Hey," she hears from the door. She turns around and sees Daryl was leaning against the doorframe. She smiles and walks over to him slightly.

"Hey yourself," she replies. "Did you get what you needed?" He nods and walks over to her.

"Yeah, got enough to keep the area going for the week," he says, then glances down at the small baby in her arms. "Who's she?" he asks. She smiles.

"Mia. One of the orphan kids around here. Still keep her going though. She's a fighter. And a screamer. I got her to get to sleep, though." He nods.

"Heard ya singing to her," he says, and she looks up surprised at this.

"You did?" she asks, and he nods, coming over to her a bit more. "Wow, didn't think you were there," she chuckles.

"I was," he replies, placing his hands in his pockets. She raises an eyebrow.

"You seem out of it. What's wrong?" He shrugs his shoulders nervously and looks at the ground, before looking back up at her. "Daryl, what's wrong?" she asks, placing Mia in her crib and walking over to him, then placing a hand on his shoulder. But he takes it off and places it at her side.

"Look," he says to her. "I ain't too good with this sort of…shit," he says, gesturing to him and Annie, and she furrows her brow. What the heck was he saying? "But I do know that I love ya," he continues. "I love ya so much. And I know I want ya to be mine." She smiles.

"I already am yours, Daryl," she says softly, but he shakes his head and grasps her hand in his.

"I wanted to make it all official and shit," he says softly, and she feels something slip on her finger. She looks down and nearly gasps when she sees a small golden band around it. That was why he didn't want her to go. That was why he didn't tell her. He was out getting this for her. "So-"

She interrupts him by standing up and wrapping her arms around his neck, connecting her lips to his in a passionate kiss, to which he replied by placing his hands on her waist and pulling her closer. "You don't even have to say it," she says against his mouth. "Yes. A thousand times yes." When she pulls back she smiles at him, and he gives her a crooked grin.

"Wait, what did ya want to talk to me about before I left?" he asks. She suddenly looks down and shakes her head.

"I don't want to worry about that now. I'll tell you in the morning. Let's just head back to the house," she says, taking his hand in hers and leading him out of the building. She cared about Jill, but for this moment, she would enjoy it. For as long as it lasted. Tomorrow she would face destiny. But for now, she would just be happy.

* * *

**Review please? :)**


	26. Blake and His Ways

**A/N: Thank you so much for the new followers and reviews and favorites! It's amazing. And sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days. Schools being KILLING ME. And by the way, I might include Terminus in this after watching the finale. But it might be several chapters before that lol. On with the story!**

* * *

**You had my heart, and we'll never be worlds apart  
Maybe in magazines, but you'll still be my star  
Baby 'cause in the dark, you can't see shiny cars  
And that's when you need me there  
With you, I'll always share**

**Because when the sun shines, we'll shine together  
Told you I'll be here forever  
Said I'll always be your friend  
Took an oath, I'ma stick it out to the end**

**Now that it's raining more than ever  
Know that we'll still have each other  
You can stand under my umbrella  
You can stand under my umbrella**

_**-Umbrella (Rihanna)**_

* * *

"_Annie!" she hears from down the hall as she swept the floor. Annie blows up a piece of her hair that was hanging in front of her face and looks to see Jill running down the hallway with a book in her hands. Jill rolls her eyes at the eleven year old. She was always so passionate about books she found. Going back to sweeping, she sees Jill run right up next to her. "Look at the book I found!" she says to her. Annie spares a glance and sees it was a Harry Potter book. She chuckles. _

"_So?" she asks, shaking her head. That book had come out two years ago and Jill was just finding it NOW? Jill shakes her head._

"_It's amazing! I've already read half of it within a time span of who knows how long! I love it so much! There's this brilliant witch named-"_

"_Jill,. Have you even finished your chores for today?" she interrupts, and the younger girl looks at her confused for a moment before mumbling something and looking down at the ground. "What was that?" Annie chuckles. Jill rolls her eyes at her._

"_Not all of it," she replies. "But I'm getting close. And I just needed-" Annie places a hand up to stop her form going on any further._

"_You know what happens when Miss Destiny finds out about us not finishing up. I'm proof of that," she says, lifting up her shirt slightly so she could show one of the many wounds she had been inflicted in pain with. Jill sighs an shakes her head._

"_Fine, I'll finish them," she grumbles. Annie smiles and places a hand on her shoulder._

"_Hey, I'm just looking out for you," she states, going back to the floor and finally starting to see its white tile, starting to shine under the hot lights in the hallway. Jill bites her lip._

"_Will you always be there?" she asks. Annie sighs, knowing she couldn't really give a true answer to this, but she gave the truest she could in the condition they were in. She looks up and smiles at Jill, nodding._

"_Of course I will. I am your best friend, aren't I?" she asks. Jill giggles at this and nods, taking off to go finish her chores. Annie chuckles and goes back to mopping the floor. She could read later. Maybe Annie would even join her. _

Annie's eyes open as she tries to look around. Her eyes squint as she feels bright sunlight invading them, blocking her from seeing anything clearly. She places her hand over her eyes and looks out the window. Bright, sun shining day. That was a rarity now a days. She remembered during college she would ride around on her bike she bought to get from building to building. She loved riding that bike. She wished she still had one.

She attempts to get up but finds that her body was entrapped in someone else's, and she rolls her eyes yet again, looking down at Daryl's arms wrapped firmly around her midsection. She couldn't help but notice how they seemed to fit perfectly together. Maybe that was why she never had a boyfriend. God was just saving her for the right person. And here he was.

Looking down a bit, she sees the few scars that littered his chest. She knew that there were deeper ones, a lot more painful ones, on his back, but she still looked at the ones on his chest. Placing her fingers on one, she traced it all the way down. Now, she definitely felt empathy to him. She had been hurt too in the orphanage. But in that moment, she felt a bit of pity as well. The people who hurt her weren't her parents. They were just people. These were actually caused by someone who was supposed to love him, and she knew that if she did have a family, then she wouldn't have this. Apparently Jill did have a family like that.

'Jill' she thinks quietly. 'Shit. I need to tell someone about this.' Looking back up, she removes Daryl's arms from around her and gets out of the bed slowly, so she wouldn't wake him up. She didn't want to. She knew he needed to take a break from reality and just sleep in. Besides, he looked cute when he slept.

She gets out of bed and steps on the ground, and then realizes she was completely naked. Her brow furrows for a second before she remembers what happened the night before. A blush rises over her cheeks and a smile spreads on her face. Shaking her head, she grabs a bunch of clothes from one of her bags and goes to the bathroom across the hall, making sure that the kids weren't out and that they wouldn't see anything they didn't want to see.

She quickly sprays some water into her hair and puts it up in a high ponytail, a few loose strands sticking out here and there. She places on her jeans and a long sleeve shirt, something that she had been needing. The weather had been dropping at night as of late. Winter must have been coming. Placing on her boots, she takes one last glance in the mirror and leaves the small area, heading down the stairs.

When she gets down there, she already sees Kelly and Hallie up, and both were staring outside the window. An amused grin spreads on her face but her brow furrows in confusion again. She walks over and looks at them. "What are you looking at?" she asks quietly. Kelly simply points outside and Annie follows her gaze, and her grin drops from her face. Jill was being manhandled by Blake. Annie places a hand on Kelly's shoulder.

"Annie," she whimpers a bit. She knew that hold that Blake had on Jill. She knew it from her parents before all of this. Annie leans down to her eye level and places another hand on her shoulder.

"Tell Daryl that I'm going with them." Hallie looks over at her at this statement.

"What?" she whimpers. "No! You can't! He'll hurt you too! I don't want another mommy to be hurt because of someone!" Annie stares at the little girl in shock for a moment, still trying to process her words, but she smiles a second later, trying to reassure the girl.

"I'll be fine, sweetie. Just fine. I just need to make sure Jill is ok." Annie turns back to Kelly. "Make sure you tell him. I don't need him freaking out over where I went." Kelly looks at her scared for a second, before reluctantly nodding her head. She needed to do this.

"Ok," she says quietly. Annie nods and places a kiss to both of their foreheads.

"Stay safe, ok?" Both girls nod and Annie takes off to the front door. Following Jill and Blake, she makes an effort to keep her mouth shut and her moves quick, so she wouldn't attract any attention. She could hear their conversation a bit, but only one word stood out, and that's when she pulled the plug.

"Listen, you little bitch," he growls, but that's when Annie steps up like she hadn't heard a thing.

"Hi!" she says cheerfully. Blake and Jill look up. Blake looked a bit peeved but Jill sent her a grateful look. "Are you heading out on a run? I'm sure I can help." Jill nods but Blake shakes his head.

"It's just going to be the two of us, if you don't-"

"Oh, come on. Three people are better then one! We'll be quicker and get back here faster." Jill holds her breath as she waits for Blake's response. Knowing that he wouldn't get out of this, he sighs and gestures his head near the truck they were heading to.

"Come on," he grumbles, letting go of Jill and going to the drivers seat. Jill looks at her with wide eyes and Annie hugs her quickly.

"Don't worry. I got you," she whispers to her, and Jill nods. Annie leads Jill to the car slowly, and they both get in without a word. Annie wasn't letting him hurt Jill anymore.

* * *

They had arrived at some sort of outpost. Annie had no clue exactly what it was supposed to be, but all she knew was that there was most likely food and supplies inside for them to take and bring back. Walking in, she stayed close to Jill, having her gun at her at all times. Jill had a rifle, and Blake had a gun with a machete on his waist as well. When they walk in, Annie looks around and does indeed see plenty of supplies around them. She was impressed. She didn't think places like this still existed.

"Jill and I will head over there, and Annie you head over there. Pick up anything you see, ok?" he asks, already heading off to the other side. Jill looks at her again with a terrified expression, but Annie places a thumb up, telling her it would all be ok, sooner or later. Jill nods slowly and walks over to where Blake was. Annie could see she was shaking slightly. God, she felt like shit seeing her friend shake like that. Jesus, she needed to do something.

Walking over to the other side, she grabs anything that she knew could come in handy. In the corner she even saw some baby formula she could bring back for the little ones. She had to admit, she grew a small bond to Mia, the little girl she had sang to the day before. She was so small and innocent, and looking at her made Annie realize that there was still a little bit of life left in his dead world. You just had to look for it, and she did.

Placing it in her bag, she turns around and surprisingly comes face to face with a walker. Acting on instincts, she places her foot on its chest and pushes it back into the wall. It groans in protest and tries again, but this time Annie had her knife out and stabbed it into its head, sending it to the ground. She knocks it to the side and sighs. Where the hell did that come from? Was there like some open door in the room that she had no clue about or something like that?

Placing her knife back in her belt she walks back out to another aisle but stops when she hears some struggling coming from the back of the store, then the sound of Jill's whimpering and crying, and that's what causes her to take her gun out and run to the other side of the store as fast as she could. When she gets to where the sound came from, she sees Blake holding Jill up against a wall, his hands on her wrists tightly, pinning her against it. She aims her gun at his head.

"Don't make another move," she growls at him, flicking the safety off. He was about to reply when the sound of walkers invaded the store, their groans echoing off the walls. She looks around and finds about thirty of them heading their way. "Well, shit," she replies. She runs to Jill quickly and takes her away from Blake's rough grip, and he glares at her.

"Give her back!" he yells at her. Annie snorts.

"We are in a life and death situation he-" He slaps her, and she glares at him, her hair now covering a good portion of her face. Before he could react, she knocks the butt of her gun into his head, and he goes out cold. Jill's eyes widen.

"Why did you-"

"Just pick his body up! We need to get out!" she states, going down to pick him up. Jill leans down, a bit shaken at her friends violent behavior, and helps as well. Annie wanted so badly to just leave him here to die and rot in a battle of walkers tearing apart his flesh. But she knew if she didn't come back with him then all hell would break loose.

They get through the outpost quickly, Annie stabbing any walkers that got in her way while they ran. She glances behind her every so often and nearly jumps back to the front every time. Why did it seem like they were getting FASTER?! She did not like that idea.

They make it outside and practically throw Blake's body into the backseat. Annie and Jill climb into the front seats and Jill hits the gas pedal. The car skids slightly, but it went off. Annie looks in the side view mirror and sighs. The walkers had taken over that place now. That was gone. At least they got away from them. Jill glances at her.

"How do we explain that?" she asks quietly, pointing to her cheek. Annie looks in the mirror again and sees that where Blake had slapped her a bruise was forming. She sighs.

"The truth," she replies just as quietly. Jill was unmovable for a second before nodding her head, still keeping her eyes on the road. She offers a quick glance at her.

"You're such a good friend," she says softly. Annie smiles.

"I know I am," she replies, and Jill playfully punches her shoulder. Annie laughs, her shoulders shaking. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Believe that at least," she says. Jill nods.

"I already do. Considering he's lyin' past out on the seat," she chuckles. "The love is way gone in this relationship," she states quieter. Annie puffs.

"The things I would do to this guy is endless, Jill. But I think we should let the men get to that first," she chuckles, and Jill smiles a bit. For once, she couldn't wait to tell them what Blake did. And Annie couldn't wait to see him get pounded to the ground.

* * *

**Review? :)**

**A little shorter but eh. I'm saving the best for later :)**


	27. Cell Block

A/N: Thanks for all the new reviews and followers and favs! Means so much to me! And the reason why I haven't posted a new chapter in a while is because I've been OBSESSED with this book called the fault in our stars. Holy shit I have never read anything so good and so well written. I LOVE IT. Just finished it. and School as well lol, but i'm happy because i just aced my math test. Quite happy. So now I'm back to my story!

On with the show!

* * *

**When the days are cold  
And the cards all fold  
And the saints we see  
Are all made of gold**

**When your dreams all fail  
And the ones we hail  
Are the worst of all  
And the blood's run stale**

**I wanna hide the truth  
I wanna shelter you  
But with the beast inside  
There's nowhere we can hide**

**No matter what we breed  
We still are made of greed  
This is my kingdom come  
This is my kingdom come**

**When you feel my heat  
Look into my eyes  
It's where my demons hide  
It's where my demons hide**

**Don't get too close  
It's dark inside  
It's where my demons hide  
It's where my demons hide**

_**-Demons (Imagine Dragons)**_

* * *

The ride back to the safe zone was intensely quiet between the two girls. No words had really been exchanged between the two since they left, Jill taking the wheel and driving slowly back, while Annie looked out the window. They would pass miles upon miles of trees and forest, and she would see deer and some other animals, and then she would see walkers every once and a while, groaning and moaning about something or some food they needed to get in their dismembered bodies. Some saw the car pass by, but it was too quick for them to get to it.

She lays her head against the side of the window and closes her eyes, feeling the wind hit her face as they drove back. When she had been younger, when she would take the subway, she had always wished she could stick her head out of the subway and feel the rushing wind ride past her. That was the only time she could feel free. Like she was flying.

Flying. That was one thing she had never done. Even when her and college friends had come down to Georgia, they had ridden down there in a rusty, old and broken up van, but it was still a van none the less, and it got the job done well. Here she was, two years later, still in Georgia because of that stupid, smelly van, that had a terrible and dirty bathroom that smelt like shit and crammed spaces.

And to be honest, she couldn't thank it enough. Even if she knew she would probably never get back home, she was content at her point in life right now. If it wasn't for that van, she wouldn't have met Daryl. She wouldn't have met the kids. She wouldn't have met Jill again, and reconnected with her. Or any of the prison group, who all seemed so nice. Well, except for Carol. But she was the least of her worries right now. All she needed to worry about to was working out Jill's little problem that was lying past out in the back seat. A sudden thought came to her mind.

"How did you even end up down here anyway, Jill?" she asks, cocking her head a bit to the side. "Weren't you adopted by a New York family?" Jill chuckles and keeps her eyes on the road, all while replying to Annie.

"I was, but by the time I was fifteen, I wanted out of the state, so I looked for colleges far away that I knew I could get into. My adoptive parents had plenty of money, so they were able to send me anywhere I wanted. So I picked out University of Georgia. Since I was top of my class and got a pretty good score on the SAT's, I got a full scholarship there. I majored in Broadcast Journalism and Studio Arts, as you know I love my paintings." Annie snorts.

"How could I forget it? You always had a new painting each week!" She looks back out the front window. "But Journalism? I didn't think you were someone who liked doing that."

"Broadcast Journalism," she corrects. "And I wasn't until the end of high school. I wanted to be on TV like the people on TODAY, and have my own little segments and stuff like that. I knew with hard work I could get there. And I was just starting my graduate work when shit hit the fan." She spares a glance at Annie. "What about you? I mean, you were in the orphanage and all that so I can only guess you didn't go-"

"I did," she says to stop her before she could go on, regretting something she was going to say. "I did go to college. I was top of the class there. I took the SAT's and got a perfect score. I got into Columbia. Full scholarship." Jill whistles.

"Damn, you're a smart cookie," she compliments, and Annie feels a blush appear on her face. "What did you major in?" she shrugs her shoulders, looking down at her legs that were crossed, playing with her fingers.

"Dance and Music," she comments. "You should see me on a piano. I'm quite good." Jill nods, a small smile on her face.

"I've heard you sing. No wonder you majored in that. And dance? Gotta show me some of those moves one day, you hear?" she asks. Annie laughs, shaking her head.

"Sure, Jill. Someday." She looks back out the window and snorts a bit. Jill looks at her with an amused look.

"What?" she asks. "What is it?" Annie shakes her head again.

"We really are similar. We're both into artsy stuff, and both want to be famous. But now…what does all that matter?" she asks softly, sighing and looking back down at her legs. Jill purses her lips for a second before hesitantly placing a hand on Annie's knee. She looks up at Jill and raises an eyebrow. Jill smiles at her all while trying to pay attention to the road at the same time.

"It makes memories. It makes you human to have those experiences. If it wasn't for college, you wouldn't have gotten out of the orphanage and lived your life finally. If it wasn't for college, you probably wouldn't be down here right now, driving in a beat down truck in the zombie apocalypse with your old best friend and a crazy psycho in the backseat." Annie burst out laughing at this statement, and Jill cracked a crooked smile at her friends joy. Annie smiles up at her.

"I guess, but you know…it just feels pointless now. Unless we're putting on some sort of performance at the zone, I don't see how our talents come in hand." Jill makes a smug look and Annie's brow furrows. "What the hell are you thinking?" she asks. Jill looks at her with a smirk.

"Well…we could do a little something, something for them like we did back when I was younger," she mentions quietly, and Annie's face reddens at the memory. She places her head in her hands and groans while Jill laughs.

"We are most certainly not doing ANYTHING of the sort!" she says to her. "And before we can do any sort of fun thing, we have a man to deal with in the backseat."

* * *

When they had gotten back, Annie had fought for a split second that maybe Daryl hadn't noticed she was gone, and maybe the kids hadn't told him. But when the first thing she saw when she stepped out was Daryl's peeved face coming at her, she knew he had found out as soon as she woke up. And now she had to explain the bruise and the past out man in the back.

"Where the hell were ya?" he asks angrily, coming up to her. She stood her ground, not flinching, waiting for him to let out his anger. She knew he was just worried. "Wake up and hear Kelly tell me ya just up and left with yer friend. Did ya go out dress shoppin or somethin' like that?" he continues, his southern accent a bit thicker now. She rolls her eyes at that statement.

"No, I did not go out to go 'dress shopping' as you called it. I went out for a completely different reason, and that is this," she says, walking over to the backseat door. "Jill! Get over here!" she yells to her, and Jill rushes over, her hands ready to remove the body from the back. Slowly, they bring his body out, still passed out, and lay him steadily against the truck. She turns to Daryl to see his brow furrowed.

"Is he…" She shakes her head.

"No, passed out," she turns to Jill. "I'll take care of him. You go say hi to Ariel and the rest, ok? Get cleaned up." Jill nods and takes off to the houses, thankful she didn't have to deal with Blake for a while. Annie turns back to Daryl and leans closer to him. "He's been beating her," she whispers to him. His eyes widen slightly an then narrow into angry slits.

"He has?" he hisses. She nods.

"I saw it firsthand where we were. I went with them because I knew she didn't want to go alone. And I didn't feel comfortable with her going by herself. I needed to protect her. And in the process I got this," she says, moving her hair away from her cheek and showing her bruise to Daryl, hand mark and all. He simply stares at it for a second before starting to walk over to Blake's passed out body.

"I'm gonna kill this asshole," he growls, ready to throw a punch, but Annie holds him back and pulls him to where he was before.

"Daryl-"

"He fucking touched ya, Annie! Doesn't that mean nothin'?!" She gives an exasperated sigh and nods, shaking her head.

"Daryl," she starts. "This isn't new to me. Yes, I'm incredibly pissed off at him, and want him to pay for his work, but being touched…hurt….it's nothing extraordinary. It's nothing." He shakes his head.

"Don't matter. It's still wrong. And you're hurt. That makes it even worse. He hurt my girl, and he's gonna pay," he says to her lowly, and she smiles up at him.

"I'm not property, " she states, and he rolls his eyes.

"Ya are missin' the point, Annie," he replies. She chuckles and leans up, pressing her lips to his in an intended quick peck, but turns into a heavy duty kiss when his hands snake around her waist and pull her closer to him. She places her arms around his neck and pulls at his dirty hair, but realized they were out in the open, and near a passed out guys body. This was not the time nor the place.

She pulls back and runs her hand through his hair for a moment, smiling up at him. "Don't worry. I know it's wrong. And it's not happening again. I can tell you that. But right now, we need to get him chained up. There's a police station down the block that has some cells there we could use, or just lock him up in built up room." He shrugs his shoulders.

"Don't care. As long as he's locked away." She nods and walks over to Blake's body, placing her arms under his back, starting to lift him up.

"Then let's get to the station."

* * *

When they got there, Annie's arms felt like they were going to fall off. He looked lighter then what he actually was, and he was fucking heavy. She felt like her body was becoming a bowl of noodles that were just endlessly slipping away from the spoon. They just wouldn't stay still. But when she saw the jail cell, she sighs, happy.

"Thank GOD," she yells, then quiets her voice when she realizes how loud that was. Daryl chuckles slightly at her reaction.

"Heavy?" he asks. She nods, an embarrassed look on her face. "Was sort of expectin' it. Ya don't look like ya have any muscle at all." She gapes at him.

"I HAVE muscle! It's just in my legs! I'm a dancer, yet again." She places Blake down on the floor and groans as she stretches her arms. "But you are kind of right," she mumbles, and he laughs at this. She rolls her eyes and goes to the desk that was across the room. "You stay in here. I'm gonna go find the keys," she says. He nods and she goes off to where she saw the desk. In fact, it was a giant office.

She pries open the door and steps inside, examining the area. It was a nice office, of course was all dismembered thanks to the apocalypse outside. Papers everywhere. Drawers on the floor. But she still searched it none the less. She looked in the bookcases, under the lamps, anywhere really where keys could be hidden, but she couldn't find them at all.

Finally, she resorts to the drawers underneath the desk and pulls them out. Then, slapping her head, like the idiot she was, she pulls out the keys. Why didn't she search there in the fucking first place? Was she really that dumb?

She moves to leave when something else in the drawer catches her eye. Reaching in, she pulls it out and sees that it was a letter. Placing the keys down for a second, she starts to slowly read the letter, incorporating every word.

'_My Dearest Elizabeth,_

_It seems that the virus is getting worse all around us. I know you will be coming here with the kids soon enough to look for me, but I will not be here. I will be about a mile outside of here, at one of the safe zones that they claim to have. It's not far. Just follow all the trucks and cars. If you see one of those things, do not hesitate to eliminate it as soon as you see it. I will be waiting, dearest. I love you with all my heart and swear to God that we will be reunited again._

_Yours forever,_

_William'_

"I wonder if they found each other," she mumbles to herself. She had to admit, that was a heartfelt note. Looking around, she places the note in her bag and takes the keys, finally heading out of the office. When she gets back to the cell, she sees that Daryl was still waiting there, and Blake was still asleep. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"What took ya so long?" he asks. She takes out the note and hands it to him.

"I was reading this," she says. While he read the note, she closes the cell door and locks it behind her. She hears him mumble something, but couldn't decode what it was.

"Damn," he says when he finishes. She nods.

"Damn indeed. Do you think they found each other?" she asks. He shrugs.

"How am I supposed to know?" he asks. She shrugs, chuckling to herself.

"I don't know," she says. "I'd like to think that they did. Seemed like they really loved each other." She hears Blake groan from the back of the cell and she glares at him. "Unlike this piece of shit right here," she says to him.

"Were am I?" he asks drowsily.

"Hell," she states. "We're telling the rest of the group about you and Jill. Don't think you're getting away with it this time," she snarls at him. His eyes widen slightly and he tries to get up, but places his hands on his throbbing head and falls back down to the floor.

"They'll never believe you," he says to her. She snorts.

"I have the evidence on my face, asshole," she says to him. She turns to Daryl and nods towards the door. "Let's head back. I'm sure the girls are worried about us." He nods and follows her out the police station, while Blake leans against the wall. He smiles to himself.

"You may think you won, Annie. But that battle is far from over," he states to himself weakly before passing out. The two did not hear this, but simply kept walking on back. Whether the worst was yet to come or not, it was time to tell the rest. Time to end this.

* * *

**Review? :)**


	28. Stories

A/N: Why thank you for the reviews and new followers! AMAZING! But some people have been asking me for something smutty as of late XD so I guess I'll find some way to add that into this for all of you wanting it. And I'm going to start reading another John Green book, and someone recommended looking for Alaska. Just bought it. On with the story!

* * *

**Gonna give you all my love, boy  
My fear is fading fast  
Been saving it all for you  
'Cause only love can last**

**You're so fine and you're mine  
Make me strong, yeah, you make me bold  
Oh, your love thawed out  
Yeah, your love thawed out  
What was getting cold**

**Like a virgin  
(Hey)  
Touched for the very first time  
(Yeah, yeah)  
Like a virgin  
When your heart beats  
Next to mine**

_**-Like a Virgin (Glee Version-Originally by Madonna)**_

* * *

'_Why are term papers so fucking HARD?' Annie thinks to herself while typing away on her laptop in her desk chair. College was being a bitch to her as of late, and these papers were not helping. And it didn't matter what people said about college being some of the best years of your life. She was currently in hell writing this. _

_She lets out a growl of frustration and lays the laptop on top of the desk, then leaning back in her chair. She crosses her arms and looks out the window. Spring was setting in, and the leaves were just starting to come out. Flowers were blooming everywhere. Below she saw a few college guys playing some football while some girls watched-probably their girlfriends._

_She sighs and looks back at the laptop. She really wanted to go outside and enjoy the nice weather while it lasted. It was either too hot or too cold. This was PERFECT. And of course she was stuck inside writing a god damn term paper. Starting to think a little, she did know she wrote a lot. At least five pages already. She deserved a break. _

_Nodding, she gets up from her desk chair and begins to take her sweatshirt in her hands, but it stopped when her dorm room door burst open and in stomps a very angry Julia, who was Annie's closest friend in the hell hole she was in. She lands on Annie's bed angrily and crosses her arms. Annie looks at her amused and places her sweatshirt down, then closes the door. "What's got you all angry?" she asks. Julia rolls her eyes._

"_Fucking Frank!" she yells. "I freaking caught him cheating on me! God damn asshole!" Annie cringes and places a hand around her._

"_Well, he sort of was an asshole, I can agree with that. Maybe it's better that you two are done. You can do so much better than him." Julia looks down and sighs._

"_I guess…it's just he was SO good in the sack. Like, oh my God he could take my breath away. And I've been feeling so frustration and stress lately that I need-"_

"_Ok, too much info there, girlie," Annie says horridly standing up and walking over to her closet. Even if she was bi, she would not be relieving any of that tension in her friend that she had. Not in a million years. She hears Julia laugh._

"_I'm sorry," she laughs. "Just I guess need some sex." She stops talking suddenly and leans into the wall. Her eyes narrow. "See? Everyone's doing it!" she whispers. Annie's brow furrows and Julia waves her over. Reluctantly, she walks over and leans against the wall, and she discreetly hears the moans and groans of the two people in the next room. She makes a face of disgust and leans back._

"_Ok, you are officially a creepy stalker," she states, backing up and grabbing her sweatshirt. "You know what you need? A beer. Let's go," she says, gesturing towards the door. Julia stares at her for a moment before she rolls her eyes and stands up, walking to the door as well._

"_Maybe then I'll get some," she mumbles. Annie groans._

"_Stop!" she yells as they walk out, and Julia laughs._

* * *

Annie glances around the area she was in. The sun was just starting to set in the distance, casting an orange glow over the land. She had to admit, she had never been a fan of sunsets, but this one was beyond beautiful. She wished she could travel to one of those tropical places so she could experience a real sunset. Like Hawaii, or the Bahamas, or even fucking Tahiti, she didn't care. All she wanted was to get out of the states. She wanted warmth all the time and sunsets like these every night.

Shaking the thought from her head, she looks over to the fire pit the group had going. It was a huge bonfire, filled with everyone talking, chatting, telling ghost stories and all that. It was like it was just a huge campout. Well, it would be if there wasn't an abundance of zombies outside waiting to eat them and all their skin because the thought of a human made their dead mouths water with pleasure.

For a minute, she really did wonder why they didn't call them zombies. Wasn't that what they were? Just walking pieces of flesh, wanting to devour you? But them she thought again. These were once living people. Living breathing people. They were victims of the virus. They didn't deserve this. She guessed this was why they called them walkers. They weren't quite the zombies they would see in shows or movies, but something different. But all she really wanted to do at the moment was shut off her brain and just enjoy the peace.

They had told the group about Blake and what he had been doing to Jill. At first the groups expressions ranged from shock to disbelief. Some even tried to defend him, saying he would never do that. Even that bitch Carol tried to defend him. But once Annie brought out the evidence to prove her points that Blake was indeed an abusive asshole, they immediately believed her. And they soon planned on taking care of him. What they were going to do, Annie had no idea. But she didn't care. She only wanted him to pay for what he did to her.

Glancing over again at the bonfire pit, she sees Jill smiling, leaning on one of the logs, with Ariel in her arms. She was talking and laughing, just like everyone else. She was finally relaxed for once. And Annie felt the corners of her mouth turn upward at this. Finally she was safe. For now.

For now.

That was what made her small smile go away. What if Blake was to somehow escape the cell he was in? What if he did and he would go out looking for revenge? What if-Oh God-what if he found Joel and brought his cannibalistic assholes back to the zone to get them? She knew Joel was still pissed about Walt and Patty. She didn't have to see him to know that.

She didn't even know how much she was worrying until she felt someone lay a hand on her shoulder. She glances up surprised to see a worried Rachel looking at her with a confused expression. "Are you ok, Annie?" she asks. Annie looks down and shakes her head slowly, crossing her arms.

"No, I'm not," she replies quietly. "I keep thinking of all these scenarios in my mind that could happen if Blake was to escape. I mean, I already have a bunch of cannibals after me. This just adds onto the pile, damn it. And now-" Rachel puts up a hand to stop her.

"Wait a minute. Cannibals?" she asks. Annie looks at her and then starts to tell her story about them. From the farm they stayed at to her kidnapping, to killing Patty and the fight with Walt. And then she told her about Joel and the rest. And once she had finished, Rachel seemed to be thinking hard at this, looking down at the floor. "Jesus, Annie," she whispers.

"I know," she replies, shaking her head. "Now, you know all my troubles," she laughs bitterly, looking back at the bonfire. "What do I do, Rach? I have no clue." Rachel looks back up and offers her a comforting smile.

"Well, I think for now, you should really just rest and talk with everyone here. Enjoy the peace you have for a while. Talk to Jill, play with the kids, have sex with Daryl for all I care-"

"Rachel!" she whispers fiercely, redness overcoming her cheeks, but Rachel goes on like she hadn't even interrupted.

"And just have fun. Life's too short to be worrying this much. Look at Jill," she says, pointing to her. "She's the main victim of this and she's smiling, holding Ariel as if nothing had ever happened to her. She's enjoying the peace. I think you should too." Annie looks at her reluctantly.

"I don't know, Rach-"

"Jesus fuck, Annie, he had two people watching him at all time!" she yells at her exasperated. "Don't worry about it!" Annie cringes slightly at her voice but realizes she was only doing it to convince her to sit down with the rest of the group. She sighs and nods.

"Ok, I'll calm down," she states. Rachel nods.

"Good. I have to head back to the infirmary. You go over and have fun!" she says, pushing her towards the bonfire. Annie chuckles and her persistence but walks over none the less. She definitely needed that talk. When she gets closer to the group, she sees the kids there as well as Daryl, actually conversing with the group. But when she got closer, she saw that Hallie was nestled in between Daryl's legs, his arms around her, and Kelly was next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. She literally felt her heart melt looking at them.

"Oh look who it is!" Jill says seeing her friend walking towards the bonfire. All eyes travel to Annie as she walks closer and she lets her eyes travel to the ground. She never liked being the center of attention. "You came at the perfect time!" she continues. Annie raises an eyebrow at her.

"And why is that, Jill?" she asks, sitting on the other side of Daryl where Kelly wasn't. Jill laughs

"Telling ghost stories," she says excitedly. "And you have a pretty good one," she adds on. Annie laughs and shakes her head.

"That's too creepy," she states. Daryl looks at her amused.

"Tell it," he says, and she raises an eyebrow at him now.

"Daryl, we have a bunch of little kids here!" she says to him. He waves his hand dismissively.

"They won't mind," he states. "Been listening to them for a while." Hallie looks up with a smile on her face.

"Tell it!" she yells, and Annie laughs at the little girls persistence. She shrugs and brings a knee up, laying her arm across it.

"Ok, but don't blame me when you can't sleep tonight. Ever heard of Slenderman?" she asks. There was a murmur for 'no' throughout the group as well as some head shaking. She could hear Jill snicker as she began her tale. "Oh, he is something. Well, legend states that he hides in the forest every day, waiting, hoping to find his next victim."

"Who is he?" a little boy asks. Annie smirks.

"Scary, that's who he is. He's tall, very tall, about ten feet, and wears a black suit with a black tie. He has white skin that's as white as the new fallen snow, and has no face what so ever."

"Sounds like the average guy who works in the city," a teenage girl says from across the fire. The group laughs at that, and Annie shakes her head, a small smile on her face.

"Trust me. He isn't. There's something else to him. Remember he has NO face what so ever. And what really makes him scary is that he has black tentacles coming out of back. Long and slimy. And waiting to just snatch someone up."

"What does he do?" a little girl asks. Annie chuckles.

"He waits. He's lurks in the forest, leaving signs for people to find something great, only for him to go in for the kill. He follows you, slowly from behind. Not making a single sound. He messes with your mind. He makes it go blurry so he can get you quicker, easier. He sometimes teleports just so he could catch up.

"Teleports?" someone asks. Annie nods.

"Yup. He freaking pops up behind you and stalks you. He breathes down your neck. He makes sure you know someone might be watching, but you simply just don't want to turn around. But sooner of later, you do. And you see his blank face. And his back suit. And his towering body. And right before you can even scream he…" She pauses for a second, looking around the group for reactions. Some were holding for the suspense. Some were looking at her a bit scared. Some were even glancing towards the woods. She looks down at Hallie and smiles. "SNATCHES YOU UP!" she finishes, making the group jump and pulling Hallie into her arms. She screams gleefully and then giggles. "Now you now Slender," she states to the group.

"That's creepy," a teenager says. Annie nods, looking over at Jill.

"That story used to scare the crap out of the kids at the orphanage." Annie snorts.

"They would be up for hours!" she concludes, shaking her head. "bunch of scaredy cats. I hope you can all sleep tonight," she states to them. Another teen snorts at this.

"Please, I've heard scarier," he states, but Annie catches him glance towards the woods. She smirks.

"Sure, kid. Sure you have."

* * *

Sooner or later, the sun had finally set and everyone was basically falling asleep in their seats. They had told a few more ghost stories after Annie's but nothing seemed to scare them more than Slenderman. They had told some old stories from their past, even Jill and Annie did a small duet together of 'Landslide', their faces turning red together when they ended and everyone clapped.

But soon the little kids were asleep, and everyone had to go back to the houses. Annie had eventually put Hallie back in Daryl's arms and she had fallen asleep minutes later. Now, both were carrying one of them back to the house, Hallie in Daryl's arms and Kelly in Annie's. She had to admit, Kelly was a bit heavier then she looked, but she was still able to carry her easily

When they got back Annie immediately took Kelly up to the girls bedroom first and laid her down in her bed, then walked over to the bathroom to put her hair up in a ponytail before she went to sleep. When she walks back out, she is surprised to hear a small conversation going on the girls room.

"Daryl?" she hears Hallie ask. She peaks into the room to listen more. He was standing up about to walk out of the room when he hears her voice. He turns around.

"Yeah?" he asks, walking over to her.

"I can't sleep," she mumbles, sitting up in her bed. He raises an eyebrow and gets down on his knees to meet her eye level.

"Ya were just a few minutes ago." She smirks at him. Actually smirked.

"I faked it so you could carry me back," she states smugly. Annie almost burst out laughing at this. She hears Daryl groan at this.

"Ya little minx," he says. She giggles at his reaction.

"Tell me a bedtime story," she says. He looks at her reluctantly.

"Not really good with those," he says. She crosses her arms.

"Well, I'm not going to sleep until you tell me one," she says stubbornly, leaning against her bed post. Daryl chuckles at the small girl. More or less, he knew she was telling the truth. She wasn't going to go to sleep, especially after Annie's ghost story.

"Ok, ok, I'll try," he says, and she waits patiently. "Well, there was once a kingdom far away from here called…Prisonia." She cocks her head.

"Sounds weird," she states, and he chuckles.

"It was. Full of weird people. But they were a family either way. And there was this one man there name…Darren." Annie rolls her eyes at this. She knew he wouldn't use his own name. But that still sparked Hallie's interest none the less. "He was one of the people who protected the kingdom."

"Like a knight?" she asks. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Sort of like that. And he cared about the kingdom so much and for everyone in it. But one day, bad people came and attacked the kingdom, and all of his family was separated from him." Hallie gasps.

"Are the bad people gone?" she whispers. He nods.

"Yeah, they're gone," he says. "But he was still alone. All of his family could have been gone for all he knew. And for two weeks he was alone. Had no one." Hallie frowns.

"That's sad," she says quietly. He shrugs again.

"It's what it was, but then one day everything changed. He saved a girl, a princess named…Angel." Annie almost snorts at the name, but continues to listen. "And she changed Darren's life forever. At the beginning, she was sort of annoying, always proving him wrong. She seemed so much smarter than him on so many levels." Annie smiles at this. "In fact, at first, both couldn't stay in the same room without arguing. But over time, something changed between the princess and the man." Hallie leans forward.

"What?" she whispers.

"They started to see each other in a different light. Started to get along. And he realized that he would do anything to protect her. She was a hurt soul. She had a tough time. Was never able to do true princess-y things because she didn't really have the opportunity. And he wanted to change that. When they thought they found a place that they could stay safe, it turned out to be even more crazier people then the ones at Prisonia." Hallie gasps. "But they had gotten away from them as well for now. After that, the air between them changed. Darren started to notice certain things about her, like how her nose would scrunch when she was angry, or how her eyes would light up when she talked about a book." Hallie smiles sleepily.

"Was she pretty?" Daryl nods.

"The prettiest. Beautiful. Her name was angel after all. And slowly, they got together. He would do anything to protect her and keep her alive. They even found a horse together and named him…Crumbs." She giggles.

"Crumbs?" she laughs out. Daryl rolls his eyes.

"It was a good name at the time. One day, the princess was captured by the same people at the house. And she was almost taken from Darren forever." Hallie's eyes widen.

"Was she ok?"

"Oh she was more than okay. She kicked those guys asses. Don't say that word," he says after. She giggles. "And she proved that even without Darren she could be unstoppable, and that made him love her more. One day, they stumbled upon another house, and inside were two little princesses named Katie and Hannah." Hallie smiles.

"They're like us!" she says excitedly. Daryl chuckles at the little girls enthusiasm.

"Yeah, they are. Darren and Angel took care of the girls like they were their own. And slowly, they started to build sort of a family with the girls, all while trying to survive out in the wilderness. But then one day someone came to take them to some sort of sanctuary, a safe zone where they could live happily. It was Darren's leader from Prisonia...Richard and his son, Conner. And Angels old friend…Jenna, and together, they took them back to this other kingdom called…Amaia. It was a place where they could relax and finally just be a family. And Darren could finally do what he had been wanting to do for a while." He sees that she was now leaning back on the bed and her eyes were slowly drifting close.

"What?" she asks quietly. He smiles at her.

"To ask Princess Angel to marry him." Hallie smiles at this.

"Did he?" she asks. He nods.

"Yeah, he did. And she said yes. And after that, they were tied to each other. Even if something bad happened to Angels friends, Darren would be there to help her, to protect her. He loved her more than anyone in the world." Her eyes finally started to close.

"Did they live happily ever after?" she says. Daryl looks at the ground and then back at the girl who was now falling asleep.

"Yeah, yeah they did. Still are," he says quietly. He didn't hear a reply and now saw that she was asleep, He smiles slightly and leans over, placing a quick peck on her little forehead. "Goodnight, sweetie," he says, now getting up and heading back to his room.

* * *

Annie literally had to run back to their room before he could see her. She literally felt like she was going to explode of happiness at the story he told. She couldn't keep the smile on her face. When she sees the door open and sees Daryl step in, she immediately latches onto him and pushes him against the wall, connecting her lips to his. He was surprised at first but then replied just as hungrily as she was, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

When she felt the need to breathe, she pulls back and smiles at him, her face lit up. "Princess Angel?" she giggles. His eyes widen.

"Shit, ya heard that?" he says. She smiles at him.

"Whole thing," she whispers to him, connecting her lips again with his, this time slow and passionate. "And I have to say, you're quite good with them," she adds on. "My eyes light up when I read a book? Really?" she chuckles. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Just notice what I've seen," he mumbles. She sighs happily, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Well, I don't think there's been a happily ever after yet," she states, and he furrows his brow. She simply smirks and finds her lips on his again. Her mouth opened slightly and he took his chance to slip his tongue in, and she moans at the contact. Slowly, she backs up against the bed and then brings them both down on top of the mattress, him on top of her.

Her hands travel up his sides and remove his shirt quickly as he does the same. To be honest, he mind wasn't even in the right place at the moment. She didn't even feel what was happening around her. All she felt was Daryl's mouth on hers and his hands running up and down her body and the wetness she felt between her legs. She starts to pull at his pants.

"Need you now," she moans against his lips. He waste no time in fulfilling this wish. He quickly removes his pants as she does as well, and soon their underwear travels to the pile of clothes on the floor. She laughs suddenly and he looks down at her with an amused expression.

"What?" he asks. She just smiles at him.

"Nothing. Just the fact that this is because of a bedtime story," she giggles. He smirks at this and leans down, capturing her lips again.

"Guess I'll just have to tell more then," he says as he positions himself over her. She smiles at him.

"Hell yes you do."

* * *

Both lay in bed later, hair disheveled and a sweaty mess, both equally tired. She had her head nuzzled in his neck while he had an arm around her, caressing his hand through her messy hair every once and a while. He glances down at he and was amazed at what he saw. How was he able to get someone like her? So perfect? He leans down and places a loving kiss on her forehead. She looks up at him when he does. She smiles lazily.

"What was that for?" she says quietly. He shrugs.

"For being ya," he replies, and her smile widens. "And for all that happened before," he adds on. She rolls her eyes at this and snuggles closer to him.

"I've been worried about Blake. What if he escapes? What if he gets joel and crew and comes back to get us? You know he will do something." Daryl simply holds her a bit tighter as her fear grew.

"He won't get anywhere near ya, or the kids, or even Jill without going through me and the rest of the men. All of us know he's bad. And if something was to happen, he would be taken care of." She was silent for a moment before sighing sadly.

"It's not a happily ever after if I'm always worrying," she states sadly.

"Then stop," he replies. She raises an eyebrow at him.

"I can't just stop," she chuckles. "I care about everyone here. You, the kids, Jill, even your group, well, almost everyone. There's this one gray haired woman I don't like," she says quietly. She feels Daryl's chest vibrate as he laughs.

"She ain't that bad-"

"She HATES me!" she says to him. "All because I'm with you. She even tried to defend Blake. Maybe she's working with him!" she says worriedly. Daryl rolls his eyes at this and tilts her chin up to make her look at him. He could see the fear in her eyes.

"We will be fine, believe me on that," he states. Her face held no emotion for a second before she nods. "Good," he says, leaning down and giving her a sweet peck on the lips. "Now go to sleep," he says when he pulls back, taking her in his arms again. And for the first time in this world, she easily did.

* * *

**Review? :) luv ya!**


	29. Leader's

**A/N: Hey! Si I haven't put up a chapter in a few days but that's because my laptop broke (of fucking course) and now I have write my stories on my mac and that's going to take me a long time because my delete key is all wonked up on here and it's so fucking annoying. SO please excuse any grammar or spelling errors that may have happened because of this. Also, I was trying to figure out exactly where to go with my storyline. This chapter dives more into Kelly's character as a kid in the apocalypse, and other stuff happening later on.**

**Ok, now on with the story!**

* * *

**So here you are, two steps ahead and staying on guard**

**Every lesson forms a new scar**

**They never thought you'd make it this far **

**But turn around (turn around), oh they've surrounded you **

**It's a showdown (showdown) and nobody comes to save you now **

**But you've got something they don't **

**Yeah you've got something they don't **

**You've just gotta keep your eyes open**

**Everybody's waiting for you to breakdown **

**Everybody's watching to see the fallout **

**Even when you're sleeping, sleeping **

**Keep your ey-eyes open **

_**-Eyes Open (Taylor Swift)**_

* * *

Kelly always questioned why birds chirped to each other. Why they simply just said stuff loudly or softly but it was all the same sound. She always wondered what they said. Always wondered what they did. Sometimes she wished she could be a bird when she was younger. To be able to fly far, far away from the house she lived in. She was hold Hallie as they left. They would escape together. Then again, they did when all of this went down. But she still wondered why they did such things. But she shouldn't be questioning things. She was out when the sun had barely risen, taking care of Crackers.

She leans down in the bag she had and pulls out some oats for the horse to nibble on. She knew Crackers was used to eating meat by now, but Daryl and Annie had found these in an abandoned store one day. She had been feeding them to the horse every single day since. She knew he was more prone to eating these then the endless meat they had here.

"Hey boy," she says softly to the horse. He neighs in response and trots over to her. She smiles at him, placing a hand on his nose and nuzzling it slightly. "Hey buddy. Want some food? I'm sure you're hungry," she continues. She reaches into the bag and pulls out a giant handful-well, what she could muster with her small hands-of oats and gives them to Crackers. He neighs happily and begins to chew. She smiles wider. "There you go."

While he munched away on the food, her mind traveled back to the people inside the house sleeping. Well, at least she thought they were sleeping. She hoped. It was way too early for them to be up. But that didn't stop her from replaying last nights memories in her mind. Daryl and Hallie's conversation.

She had been up when he told her that story. Once she was in the bed, her eyes had opened but made sure that neither of the people could see her. And she listened intently to the bedtime story that Daryl had told her. And she had to admit, she liked this screwed up life in fairytale form. She knew everything he said was him and Annie's adventures. She knew about the people. She knew about the torture Walt put her through. She had heard her and Daryl talk about it one day.

But even so, she had to admit that she quite liked listening to story. She knew that by now these people were her official parents. She knew it. Hallie knew it. And Kelly knew that she loved those two more then anyone in the world. And so did Kelly. And she sure as hell didn't want to lose another set of parents, and these were nice and loving. Not like her mommy and daddy before.

They had wiggled their ways into their hearts, and deep down, Kelly was afraid that they would turn out to be like her old parents, but every single time it popped up in her head she would shake it out. She didn't want to think about that. All she wanted to think about was keeping her little sister safe and her family ok, and surviving.

Surviving.

This world had been cruel to everyone. Kelly was quite the spy, and she had heard Daryl and Annie talking about the man that ran Aasim. Blake. And that he was somehow crazy and beat her, and also her friend Jill. At first she didn't believe it. He looked so sweet and gave everyone food and protection, but after listening more, she slowly started to believe it. Annie never lied.

And then she brought up Joel, and the fact that he could come and get Walt or get them or team up with him and kill them or take the zone or-she shakes her head again. Her thoughts were taking over her again. She needed to stop thinking and just focus on the horse. She looks down at her hands and realizes all the oats were gone. She smiles at the horse and pets his nose again.

"I'm guessing that was good boy? Huh?" He neighs again and Kelly laughs. "You're so cute," she mumbles, going around his side and grabbing his brush. "We haven't taken you out on a ride huh? It's been such a long time. I bet you would love to ride through the grass and the fields, right?" she asks, starting to comb his fur as a chilly wind blows through the air. Winter was coming soon. The horse neighs in response.

She looks around the area quickly and looks in the woods. Looking at the horse, back at the field, then at the house, and then back at the horse. She smiles. "Hey, wait here for a second, boy. I'll be back in a second," she says to him, running into the house. She runs up the stairs and to her room. Quietly opening the door, she walks inside and grabs the bow she had been learning how to use as well as the quiver of purple arrows Daryl had gotten for her. Then, tip toeing out of the room and back down the steps, she goes back to the backyard and runs back to the horse.

Throwing her bow over her shoulder, she climbs up on him and sets herself in a comfortable position so she could easily move him. "Ok boy, I'm new to this, so go slow, ok? We're heading to the station," she says to him, and the horse neighs in response. She pats his side and he starts to trot out of the backyard and to the street, off on her way to the station where Blake was.

Looking around as the horse walks, she notices that the sun was just starting to reach the sky, and fields of red and yellow and orange painted the sky, making it look like a beautiful painting. She had to admit, this was a sight she could get used to. The sidewalks were completely clear and there were no signs of life anywhere around her. If she didn't know any better, she would have guessed this was just another town filled with infected and deserted when the world went to poop.

She looks at the end of the street and sees the small police station, looking all bad and messed up. It looked run down, but it still seemed ok enough to hold a grown man without him escaping. At least she thought that.

She gets to the station and climbs on Crackers, making sure he would stay there so he wouldn't run off. He would do that from time to time. Taking out her knife just in case, she opens up the door slowly and glances inside. Walking in, she makes sure to keep her eyes open, looking around at any sound she heard. She sees and office to her right, huge, probably had all the keys to the holding cells that spread down the hall. But she decides she would go in there later. She wanted to see Blake.

She walks to the cell he was in and leans against the wall. Sure enough, there was Blake, on the ground, passed out. She sighs and shakes her head. She really didn't like this guy after what they said he did, but at the moment he looked so defenseless. But she wasn't dumb. She may be young. And she may be seven. But she wasn't dumb. She looks around the area and sees that the hallway down the end was completely dark. Deciding to let the man sleep, she walks down, flipping on her flashlight. She couldn't believe what she was doing, all by herself, going down a hall she had no clue about, but hey, that was life now, right?

Seeing a door closed, she walks over and places her hand on the knob, slowly opening the door. And now she knew why the door was closed. There were at least five walkers in there.

Before any of them could see her, she squats down on ground and hides behind a turned over desk, taking her bow out from behind her and placing an arrow in the string. She peeks up and aims her arrow at one of the walkers heads, lets it fly, and it lands right in the center. It falls down to the ground later, and that gains the attention of the others.

They all come her way and she moves to the other side of the turned over desk before they could see her. When they are all on the other side, she quickly stabs two of them in the head with her knives. That left two.

Both turn towards her now with a vengeance, looking for her to eat. She aims another arrow quickly and shoots it into another one of the walkers heads, and then moves on to the other one, it's hands still reaching out to grab her. It was way to close for her to shoot it with her bow, and the knife would be no use at the angle she was at, so she takes a piece of wood that was laying on the ground and begins to smack the crap out of him so he would die. First his side, then his head, then his leg, then his head again, and finally she hit him enough to have his brains splatter all over the wall.

She leans back to what she just did and falls onto the floor, her hands supporting her from really hurting her bottom. Had she really just did that? Wow, she didn't even know her own strength. Looking back at the body, she was even more impressed with herself when she realizes that the walker had been twice her size. Maybe even bigger. And she killed it.

Nodding at her work, she begins to get up and go back to the horse to head home before anyone could tell she was gone, but stops when her hand feels something on the ground. She looks to her right and notices that her hand was laying on something sharp, and she lifts up her hand and glances at what it was.

Just a piece of glass. That would so no use. But then she feels more, and more, and then she finally feels the pain in her side. She looks down and gasps, only to cringe at her pain. She had fallen in glass.

"Crap!" she whispers, leaning on the table for support to stand up from the ground. "Dang it!" she growls as she begins to walk. She needed to get this patched up soon or else everyone would know she was down there. She rips off the sleeves of her shirt and takes a clothe out of her pocket and wipes up the blood slowly, and then wraps the sleeve around her small body. Looking at what she did, she sighs and starts her slow walk back to Crackers. She would get it all patched up when she got back.

When she gets back to where the cell was, she notices that Blake was up now. He had probably heard all the commotion in the room down the hall. They weren't thick halls. She looks down at the man while he groans and gets up. Kelly looks closer and sees that he had a huge bruise on his head from where Annie had hit his head. She had to chuckles at that. It was gigantic, and wasn't doing well for his situation. But Blake heard and he looks up at the little girl. He smiles sweetly at her.

"Hey, little girl," he says coming to the bars. She stands her ground where she was. She knew what he was trying to do. "How long have you been here?" he asks. She shrugs.

"A few minutes. You were sleeping." Blake nods.

"These floors aren't very comfortable. I'm sure you understand." She nods her head.

"Yeah. I've had to sleep on floors. They're not comfy," she says back to him. If anything, his smile seemed to widen. She comes to the bars and places her hands on them, leaning in. "I know that."

"Well, how about we have a bit of an agreement. You let me out, and I'll give you a great bed." She shrugs her shoulders again.

"I already have a good bed," she states. "And a great family. Are you going to do anything to them?" she asks honestly. She sees him shake his head in the dimming darkness, but she knew he was lying.

"No, I did nothing of the sort. I'm the leader here. I'm here to protect all of you. Including little girls, like yourself." He places one of his large hands on hers and she makes eye contact with him. He was lying. Thinking of a trick Annie taught her, she smiles softly at him.

"Oh," she goes on. "Well, I'm thankful for that," she adds on, placing one of her small hands on top of his. "It's really nice…" she starts, and then twists his finger in the opposite direction of where it was supposed to go. He lets out a screech. She had just broken his finger. Just like Annie did to Walt. "…that they locked you up in here," she ends, twisting it a bit more.

"Kid-"

"Don't call me that," she hisses at him. Only Annie and Daryl could call her that. "You don't touch my family, you don't touch Annie or Jill. I don't want you near them." He glares at her, yanking his finger back and holding it so it wouldn't go flimsy.

"Fuck you, kid," he replies leaning back. "You're a little miniature version of that bitch, Annie, huh? Little tiny thing. What makes you think you can beat me?" he asks. She snrots.

"Because I'm the one with the weapon. You have nothing." She goes towards the door. "If you want a battle, then the town is ready." Blake smirks at her.

"Don't worry sweetie. I'm sure there's going to be one soon enough. And all of you will be gone. In due time, kid," he says, backing back into the wall. She looks nervously at him for a moment before shaking her head for the umpteenth time and finally walks out of the police station, back to her horse.

"We need to get out of here," she mumbles to him, climbing on top. "Hiyah!" she sees to him, and Crackers gallops back to the house, Blake's words repating over and over in her head.

* * *

Annie and Daryl were near the front of the house later that day, talking about exactly where they had to go next to get supplies. Everywhere was slowly running out of food and they had to expand their sources. Hallie and Kelly were over with Ariel and all were playing some sort of running game. Maybe tag.

"Where's Jill anyway?" she mumbles to herself. The woman was probably still asleep, re-energizing from yesterdays events. She didn't blame her though. If she was going through what Jill had been going through she would e tired too. But she wasn't. She had Daryl, who literally didn't do anything to her like that at all. And she knew he loved her just as much as she did. She didn't even realize that her eyes had traveled to Daryl and she had a wide grin on her face until he looked up from the map he was staring at.

"What ya grinnin' for?" he asks, a crooked smile on his face. She smiles even wider.

"Oh, nothing. Just happy, I guess," she says to him, looking back down at the map. He was about to say something else but two people had come over to them to interrupt their small little banter. Annie looks up and sees Rick there with a gun in his hand. Her brow furrows. "What's with the gun?" she asks.

"Just went down the police station to check on Blake. Said some pretty screwed up stuff. But I think it was just because his finger was broken." Daryl raises an eyebrow.

"How the hell did he break a fucking finger? That cell is small," he says. Annie nods in agreement. Rick shrugs and sighs.

"I have no clue. But all I know is that the stuff he said could be real or not. Said there are some people looking for the zone that are bad, and that they would take over. Then again, this could all be fake." Annie looks down and gulps. That could have been Joel and all of them.

"We still need to take precautions," Daryl says. "Just in case. Make sure everyone's got the hang of a gun. Gonna need it." Rick nods.

"Already on it," he replies. He starts to walk down the porch steps but stops and turns back to the two for a moment. "A lot of people look up to you two," he starts. Annie and Daryl share a glance before turning back to the man. "Might find yourself leading this place one day. Never know," he says. That's when he walks away and walks over to his son who was about to head out.

Annie looks back at Daryl and sighs. "Do you think it's Joel?" she asks quietly. He's silent for a moment before shrugging.

"Could be, or couldn't. Could also be a load of bullshit comin' out of his mouth. But like I said, never hurts to be prepared." She nods and looks back down at the map.

"By the way, Jill and I are heading out to the local mall today to get some stuff for the kids." His head snaps up at this.

"What?!" he asks. She chuckles at his reaction. "Ya just went out yesterday and-"

"Daryl, do you feel the cold air?" she asks. He stares at her, just trying to see what she was attempting to do, but simply sighs and nods lazily. "That means winters on his way. Which means Christmas. Which means toys." He groans and places his head on the table only to bring it right back up.

"Ya are riskin' ya and Jill's lives for TOYS? REALLY ANNIE?" he whispers fiercely. She walks over to this side and smiles at him.

"Yes I am, but think about it. It'll all be worth it to see the smile on those kids faces." He still looked apprehensive. "I'll be fine, Dixon." He stares at her for another moment before leaning over and capturing her lips with his. She sighs into the kiss and places her hands on his chest. But their little intimate moment was ruined by a child's voice.

"Yuck!" they hear Hallie yell. They separate and look over at Hallie who was looking away form them. "They're kissing!" Annie laughs at this, looking back at the house while Daryl smirks at the little girl. Annie turns back to Daryl and kisses his cheek one last time.

"I'll be ok."

"Annie!" she hears. She looks over and sees Jill up and awake. Ready to go. Annie looks back at Daryl and squeezes his hand for a little bit of comfort. "I'll see you later," she says, running odd to go meet Jill.

"Ya better bring that ass back here safe," he says. She turns around and smiles at him before running off to go meet Jill. He watches her go out of sight. Man, this woman would be the death of him.

"You really love her huh?" he hears under him. He looks down and sees Kelly there, staring at his face. Daryl smiles small.

"Yeah, I do," he replies. His eyes travel to her side and his brow furrows. He could see some blood. "Kelly, what happened?" he asks. She looks down and quickly replies.

"I fell on some glass before, but I patched it up," she says. He comes down to her and lifts up her shirt to see a poorly placed bandage. He snorts.

"Didn't do a very good job," he states. "Come on, I'll patch ya up."

* * *

**Review please! :) Thanks for reading 3**


	30. Joel's Words

**A/N: Ok, so I just looked at the amount of followers and damn it's almost at 100! So I think that calls for celebration! Honestly, next chapter, what do you people want me t do for all of you. I'll do anything for this. It feels amazing that almost 100 people are reading my story. Jesus that's scary. Just leave a comment and let me know! But anyway thanks to the people who reviewed and followed :)**

* * *

**And you throw your head back laughing**

**Like a little kid**

**I think it's strange that you think I'm funny**

**Cause he never did **

**And I've been spending the last 8 months **

**Thinking all love ever does is **

**Break and burn and end **

**But on a Wednesday in a cafe **

**I watched it begin again**

_**-Begin Again (Taylor Swift)**_

* * *

"Well, fuck me," Annie mumbles under her breath as she looks through the old dusty shelves of one of the stores her and Jill had found. It was an old strip mall to be exact, and inside at least three were toys upon toys. And one of the toys she was looking at brought back some old memories. Jill hears and comes around the corner, looking at her with a perplexed expression.

"Are you sure? In a store?" she teases. "Wouldn't it be better back at base?" Annie rolls her eyes and pushes Jill shoulder, knowing that she didn't mean it, but still liking the fact that she had enough wit in her to actually get that joke out. Jill laughs. "Just joking. What are you looking at?"

"That," Annie replies simply, pointing to the board game that was all covered in dust but wasn't opened. "Look at that," she says to Jill. The younger girl smiles at takes the box in her hands, turning it around in her hands.

"Clue," she states. "We got into some wicked fights with this game." Annie snorts at this, looking through the shelves behind her to see if there's any other toys she could grab.

"We would end up clawing at each other, thinking we were both cheating. I mean, I always won, but still." Jill faces her front and glares at her playfully.

"Bullshit, I always won." Annie laughs loudly.

"Yeah, no. I did. All the time! You're in denial my dear. Nothing to it." Jill places her hands on her hips.

"I AM NOT IN DENIA-"Annie suddenly places a hand over her mouth, stopping her in her string of curses and complaints that was bound to come out. Jill glares at her but when Annie places a finger to her lips, Jill nods and crouches down with her. Annie nods her head towards the back of the store. They trot their quietly without breaking anything. When Annie hides behind a bookshelf, she listens closely to the voices she was hearing.

"Were exactly are we going, man? We've been on the same track for ages," she hears a gruff voice say lowly. Another man grunts in reply.

"This is stupid. And why are we even off the fucking tracks? The sign said to go to the end of the line and here we are, in a fucking strip mall." Another tall man turns to the one talking and glares at him.

"We're gettin' supplies, asswipe. Just hold on and we'll get back on the track." Annie's eyes widen at that voice. Her heart began to race in her chest and she started to feel slight sweat start to drip down her neck. Joel. She knew he was there. Jill sees this and places a hand on her shoulder to ask her what was wrong, but Annie simple kept listening.

"Man, what would Walt do? He would keep walkin-"

"Don't talk about Walt. He's gone now. No use in dwindling about it. It's been months." One man snorts at what he says.

"Yeah, him and his wife. Killed by a woman, no less. I cant believe that shit. A fucking woman. Wonder if she's still alive somewhere." Joel growls.

"If she is, and we find her, she's mine to take out. Little bitch deserves to die. Fucking slut. Walt and Patty were good people. They gave me a place to stay when no one else would. And she just fucking killed them! What the fuck?!" Joel complains. Annie snorts quietly.

"That's because ya'll are FUCKING CRAZY," she whispers fiercely, shaking her head. She peeks around and sees the group coming in. About seven men. She quickly hides behind the shelf again and looks at Jill with determince on her face. "We need to get out of here without them knowing. Do you have the toys and all that?" Jill nods but looks at her confused.

"Annie, who the fuck are these people?" she asks. Annie shakes her head.

"I'll tell you later, Jill. Just wait for me to call the signal ok?" Jill swallows the lump in her throat but nods and lets Annie do her thing. She looks around the side and listens more.

"Look around and find anything useful we could use. We still got a day before we reach Terminus and gonna need as much shit as possible," she hears Joel say. Annie lets that sink in. Terminus. There must have been another safe zone around other then Aasim. Well, she was quiet happy at Aasim then she would be at Terminus. Especially with this fucktard around her.

"Stay here," she whispers to Jill, who nods. Annie notices she had her knife out just in case something bad was to happen. Annie had to admit, the girl was smart. But it was her job to get them out.

She hears footsteps come her way and feels a presence come around the corner. It was one of the men. Before anyone could see or say anything, she jumps up and stabs the fucker in the head. He goes limp in her arms and she pushes him to the side, trying hard not to make any more noise then she was making. Looking back at Jill, she nods her head towards the door.

Jill nods and follows her on the ground, making sure to stay low to the ground while Annie stayed alert in front of her, knife out. When they were just at the door. They opened it nice and quietly, and just when she thought they would get out of their safe, a DING of a bell stops them.

The fucking door has a bell.

How did they not notice that?

The group of men look over and see them, including Joel, but before they could react, Annie and Jill had taken each others hands and were running to the car that was on the other side of the parking lot. She hears Joel scream "GET THEM!" behind her and she runs faster.

"We have to get to the car!" Annie screams to Jill, and she starts to run faster. Annie finally starts to feel shot whiz past her head and she starts to panic slightly. But she was not gong to die now. There was no way in hell she was going to let that happen. She needed to survive.

Finally, they make it to the car and hide behind it as the shots continues to ring. Jill takes out her gun and loads it up, while Annie turns to the drivers seat and starts to car. Peaking over, Jill fires a few shots at the men, and actually succeeds in hitting one of them. "Jill, make every bullet count," Annie says while turning the key. Jill growls at her.

"I know that!" She fires another and hits one of them in the shoulders, and Annie finally get the cars engine to burst to life and got it running. Jill jumps into the back as she sees the men coming towards the car, and Annie gets into the drivers seat. Finally, stepping on the gas pedal, the car speeds out of the parking lot and onto the road. Jill glances behind her and sees the men trying to catch them but they were at the highest speed this car could go.

"Who the fuck was that?" she yells at Annie who was still driving fast as she could, holding onto the wheel with her hands so tight, nearly turning white with her grip. Her eyes were set on the road.

"Remember those cannibals I told you about? Yeah, that was them. That was Joel." Jill glances back at the road behind them and sees that they were completely out of sight now. She leans up and places her hand on Annie's shoulder again, trying to get her attention.

"They're gone. You can slow down now," she says softly, then leans back in her seat. Slowly, the car stops driving at full speed and start to go at around thirty miles per hour. They did need to save gas. Jill looks back at the road again and sighs. "Jesus," she mumbles. "What if they're coming for Aasim?" Annie shakes her head.

"I heard them say something about a place called Terminus." Jill's hands go to her mouth and Annie sees this is her rearview mirror. She sends her a confused look. "What's up?" she asks. Jill looks back outside.

"We were in Terminus for a while….they're bad people. It was before Aasim." Anne snorts.

"Then they'll fit right in," she says quietly, still keeping her eyes on the road now. Jill looks at her through her eyelashes and sighs again.

"Annie, you literally killed that man. He wasn't dead and you just killed him." Annie looks down at her lap for a second before glancing at Jill in the mirror.

"Look, those people are bad Jilly," she says softly, using her nickname fir her. "We can't afford to have any of them alive right now. People like that don't deserve to live. What if they did get to Aasim? What about Ariel? And everyone else there? The kids? This is keeping us safe." Jill looks down at the floor. Annie sighs. "Look, sleep it off. We'll be back at the place in an hour."

Jill doesn't even speak. Just looks down at the seat, laying her head and bringing her feet up for support. Within seconds, Annie knew she was long gone and off in dream land, whether it was a good land or a bad land. But she put her eyes back on the road and thinks to herself while she had the quiet.

How would she tell them what happened back at the zone? This will surely cause some sort of defense mechanism to start. Her head starts to spin and she stops the car. She needed to rest for a bit.

Placing her head against the back of her seat, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She only needed to get them back safe and sound. That was it. Hold in her panic until she got back. She nods at this and places her hands back on the wheel, but not starting it up. For a moment, she glances around the forest and at the all the trees and all the animals.

She needed a getaway for a while. She loved the zone, but the forest with Daryl and the kids was something she wanted to do more than anything again. Maybe that would calm her nerves. But before she could even decide on what to do, she shakes her head slightly and starts the car. She didn't need to think about all of this now. She needed to get back and see everyone.

Pulling back onto the road, she hears the tires screech as they get back onto the black and bumpy pavement, but she didn't care. Jill's soft snores relaxed her into a peaceful mood as she drove back. Everything would be ok.

* * *

When they had gotten back to the zone, Annie was barely an inch out fo the car when she was attacked by Hallie latching onto her legs. Annie looks down at the small girl and chuckles. "Hi, sweetie," she laughs. Hallie looks up with a smile.

"Can I ask you something?" she says. Annie smiles.

"In a second ok? I need to get Jill out." Hallie nods and lets go of her legs. Annie turns to the back door and touches Jill's shoulder, shaking it slightly. "Jill," she whispers. "Time to get up." She gets a groan in reply. Annie chuckles. "Ok, whenever you want to." She closes the door and turns to Hallie. "Let's head back into the town."

Hallie sticks her arms up, as if to say 'Lift me!' Annie leans down and grabs the girl up ion her arms, placing her on the bottom part and one of her arms around her back. Hallie smiles and lays her head on her shoulder. Annie looks at her from the corner of her eye.

"Are you ok?" she asks. Hallie looks at Annie.

"Are you my new mommy?" she asks softly. Annie stops walking and looks at her with a surprised look. Sure, she had called her mommy once, but she thought that was just a slip of the tongue. "Because I want you to be. So does Kelly. She doesn't really show it that much, but she does." Annie smiles at her and pecks her small forehead.

"Of course I am." Hallie smiles.

"What about Daryl? Is he my daddy?" she asks. Annie chuckles.

"I think he has been for a while. But come on, I have to go talk to him right now," she states, putting her back down on the ground. "Go off and play with you friends, ok?" Hallie nods and runs to the playground. Looking around, Annie notices that Kelly wasn't really anywhere to be seen. 'That's strange. Usually she's always outside,' she thinks, walking to her house.

Stepping inside, her questions were answered when she sees Kelly sitting on the steps to upstairs, looking at a bandage around her side. She looks up and sees Annie had walked in and grimaces at her. Annie walks over.

"What happened to you?" she asks worriedly. Kelly waves her hand.

"I'm fine. Just fell on some glass before. Daryl patched me up." Annie looks at her with a raised eyebrow but when she hears Daryl come around the corner she looks up. He gives her his infamous crooked smile and she offers him a small one in return. Looking back at Kelly, she nods towards the door. "Can you go outside, sweetie? I need to talk to Daryl." She nods and gets off the stairs, limping slightly to the door and stepping outside.

Annie turns to Daryl and finds him looking at her, confusion on his face. She sighs. "Jill and I ran into Joel's group," she starts. She practically sees all his muscles tense when she says that.

"What?" he growls at her. She looks down at the floor.

"Yeah," she quietly whispers. "I, uh, I killed one of his men and I think I permanently scared Jill. She's not used to seeing what she saw. And I feel terrible about it," she ends, crossing her arms over her chest. Daryl comes over to her and takes her hands out of their own grasp and takes them in his.

"Then she's gotta get used to it then," he says to her. She looks up with fear in her eyes.

"Daryl, they said they were going to a place called Terminus, but…what if that's nothing? What if they keep looking? What if they find this place? What if-" He cuts her off by placing his lips on hers and she replies by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. Slowly, she feels her back hit the wall and his arms lace around her waist. For a moment, she thought about letting all her stress go at that moment with him, but then realized that Kelly was right outside.

She pulls back and smiles small at him, placing her forehead against his. "I'm so scared," she whispers. Joel takes her face in her hands and gives her another quick kiss.

"If he even thinks about crossin' over into here, we'll make sure he doesn't go past one step." She smiles again.

"We have to tell the others though," she says. He nods.

"Yeah," he says. She looks down for a second before looking back up at him with a cheeky smile.

"Or…we can head upstairs and put that bed to good use," she whispers to him, tracing her hands on his stomach. He smirks at her and takes her up in his arms. She lets out a gleeful scream as he lays another kiss on her, then starts to bring her up the stairs.

"I think we can do tha'," he says to her as she latches onto him for dear life, but still kept a smile on her face. She didn't need to worry about Joel right now. She needed this. Very badly.

When they get up there, he sets her down on the bed and climbs on top of her, placing his lips on hers again. She smiles into the kiss and sighs a bit. But when she pulls back to get a bit of air, she still keeps that smile on her face. He raises an eyebrow at her. "Wha'?" he asks. She chuckles.

"Nothing, just… I always thought love was pointless. And now…" She laughs again, shaking her head. "Didn't really have a lot of relationships that lasted long in college. People didn't really like me." Daryl snorts.

"I don't know how that happened," he murmurs, kissing her again. "Fucking perfect." She smiles at this.

"Then prove that to me," she says to him, grinding against his lip slightly. He groans and kisses her harder.

"I'd be happy to," he says, finally running his hands under her shirt. Oh, he definitely would.

* * *

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	31. Let It Go

**OMG FINALY SPRING BREAK :) Ok, is I haven't updated in a few days but that's because I've been busy with school and all that. But now I'm on spring break until the 28****th**** and I have more time to write and shit, as well as working on homework. But I'm still going to write. I have some new ideas for a new story, but I decided to wait until I finish this story to write that. And I don't know how long that will take XD**

**And thanks for the new followers and reviews! Love you all :)**

**On with the story!**

**(P.S.-I'm listening to Mr. CreepyPasta while writing this lol. Giving me nightmares)**

* * *

**Let it go, let it go**

**I am one with the wind and sky**

**Let it go, let it go **

**You'll never see me cry **

**Here I stand **

**And here I'll stay **

**Let the storm rage on**

**My power flurries through the air into the ground **

**My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around **

**And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast**

**I'm never going back, the past is in the past**

**Let it go, let it go**

**And I'll rise like the break of dawn **

**Let it go, let it go **

**That perfect girl is gone**

**Here I stand**

**In the light of day **

**Let the storm rage on**

**The cold never bothered me anyway!**

-_**Let it Go (Frozen)**_

* * *

It had been a week since Annie and Jill had come across Joel's group when Jill finally decided to join the land of the living and go back and help the group. She had been staying inside practically every single day because she didn't really want to talk to really anyone. After seeing Annie kill that man, she sincerely felt like she would throw up that day.

Ever since she had found Annie she had seen some change in her. Some good and some bad. Of course she looked different. A good different. She was braver and kinder. She was obviously nurturing with how well she took care of Kelly and Hallie. But some of the traits she had gotten sort of scared Jill. How Annie wasn't afraid to kill people. How she just seemed to not…care.

What if that man had a family? Friends? What if someone was waiting for him at Terminus? What if he was somehow the cure for all of this?

She shakes her head as she steps out of her house. And this was why she would never be as brave and strong as Annie. This is why when Blake was hurting her she couldn't stop it. She thought way to much and thought too good of people. She always had. Hell, that was why she was adopted so easily. Because she was so nice. But now…in this world…. there really was no good people at all. It was rare when she came across good people.

Walking down the dark stone path, she hears nothing but her feet paddle along the sidewalk to where she was going. It was around the ten am. People were out walking. She knew Annie was somewhere in the town. Where, she had no clue, but she was somewhere. Maybe in the nursery. But who the hell knows? She was like a ghost. Always disappearing.

Her head looks to the police station near the end of the street and she involuntary feels a shiver of fear run up her spine. Blake was still there. She had been hearing people say what they were planning to do to him. What they wanted to do. Where they wanted to throw him into. Personally, she sort of wanted to hurt the man too, but at the same time was sort of afraid.

She hadn't even gone near the station since he was put in there. Thinking back, she realized that she really was the only one who hadn't gone there yet. And she wouldn't be going there anytime soon. All of these people and thoughts in her head just made her confused and scared and so many other emotions that she didn't want to feel at all.

She wanted to be Annie. She wanted to be brave and to be strong. She wanted to not be afraid of what she wanted to say. She wanted to just…be someone else then who she was.

Looking towards the city hall, she feels her stomach begin to growl and she chuckles slightly. She had been running out of food in her house. It was time to face the normal world and go in and get some shit to eat. She needed it anyway. She was too skinny.

A delicious smell pulls her into the main hall. Her eyes close in pleasure as she climbs up the steps. It smelt like pancakes. And syrup. She even detected a bit of bacon. Where they found this shit, she had no clue. But she very much liked the smell. It was something she hadn't had in a while.

She travels down the hall with a small smile on her face and the food that awaited her. When she walks into the cafeteria, she sees a few people chatting away, some eating, or some just sitting there with a book, trying to escape the world outside. Looking over to the kitchen, she makes her way to the counter inside and grabs one pancake in her hand, then begins to munch. Looking to her left she picks up two pieces of bacon, savoring it's salty taste as she places one in her mouth.

Oh, it had been too long since she had some of this.

She turns around, meaning to go back outside, but it stopped when her body collides with someone else's. She nearly drops her food to the ground from the impact, but quickly catches it before it could fall. She places the food on the counter and looks down at who she had toppled over, and is surprised to see that that person was Rick.

"Oh. Jesus, I'm sorry, Rick," she stutters out, reaching her hand down for him to grab. To her surprise he chuckles at her reaction and takes her hand. She pulls him up and finds herself blushing, embarrassed at her actions. She really needed to watch where she was going. "Sorry," she repeats a bit cheekily. He waves his hand dismissively.

"It's fine, Jill," he chuckles, a but of a smile on his face. She smiles back and takes her food.

"I don't know what's been up with me lately," she replies, now walking out of the kitchen. "My mind hasn't been in the right place the past couple of days." She makes her way over to the back door that lead out into the courtyard. He opens and holds the door out for her, and she offers a smile in return. "Thanks."

"No problem," he replies. She sits down on the steps and sees him sit down next to her. "I did notice you haven't come out of your house that often in the past week. Anything wrong?" he asks, and she could hear the hint of concern in his voice. She shrugs her shoulders, taking another bite of her pancake.

"It's just," she starts through a mouthful of dough, then swallows. "I don't know. I've been feeling a bit down on myself lately. Not really feeling up to life since I went out with Annie." His brow furrows.

"What do you mean?" he asks. She sighs and looks down at her feet, then back up to meet his eyes.

"I'm sure Daryl told everyone what Annie said, right? That we ran into Joel and his buddies?" He nods at this. "Ever since then I've felt…like I'm not….good…enough for this world. I mean, I saw Annie just take down a man. I could never do that. I'm not strong like her. I'm not brave. Hell, I couldn't even tell my own boyfriend to back off. I'm such a coward compared to her." She looks down at her feet again and wills herself not to cry.

"Well," Rick starts. "That's a load of bullshit right there." Her head snaps back up at this. What did he just say?

"What?" she asks dumbly. He snickers at her reaction and faces her.

"I can tell you're not a coward," he says. "From the moment Carl, Michonne and I saved ya, I knew you had skill. I knew there was something deep down. And you've proven that you can be brave, and strong, and smart. And all things mentioned before. Sure, maybe you can't take down a man that easily like Annie can, but I don't think that's really a skill you want to acquire voluntarily." Her brow furrows.

"What do you mean?"

"Some people kill so easily because they've had to face death plenty of times. Annie is just one of the many people who has had to face it. She's told you about Walt, right?" She nods. "That's a time she had to face death. She had to get used to it to stay alive. I've had to. Daryl had to. But obviously you've been so strong and able to survive that you haven't had to do anything like that. And you should be thankful you've never had to do that. But don't say you think you're a coward, because you're not."

She looks down at the ground with a smile on her face. So, he thought that of her? Well, that made her happy. She looks back out to the courtyard and sees other people there starting to congregate.

"I was actually intimidated by you and Michonne when you found me. Carl, not so much, but you and Michonne, yup." She sees him chuckle and she turns her head to look at him.

"Why would you be intimidated by us?" he asks. She snorts.

"Are you kidding? The woman had a katana pointed at me and you had a gun! I had a knife! What sort of protection would that be? Nothing. I'd be dead in seconds." She nods her head. "Yup. I'd be a goner."

"But we didn't kill you," he points out. She chuckles.

"No, you didn't," she says quietly. Her thoughts travel to one part of her brain she tried to conceal, but the question popped out anyway. "Are you and Michonne together or something like that?"

"What makes you think that?" he asks back. She shrugs her shoulders nervously.

"I dunno. I've seen you together a lot so I just assumed. I think a lot of people assumed." He chuckles but shakes his head.

"No, nothing like that. She's close, and she's been a good mother figure to Carl, but we're not together or anything." She nods.

"I don't know why that question popped up but whatever," she laughs, standing up from the steps. "I'm heading to the nursery to talk to Rachel. I'm sure Judith is there right now. Wanna see her?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Of course," he replies, standing up. She offers him a smile and nods her head in the direction of the police station, walking towards it. She sees him fall into step besides her and another thought pops into her head.

"Has Blake been any…trouble?" Rick shakes his head.

"No, he's actually been quiet. Tolerable. Still not releasing him though." She nods and finds her face looking at the ground again. He sees this and stops her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you'll be ok, Jill. He's locked up. Nothing's going to happen to you. I don't think Annie would let him even 100 yards near you." She chuckles at this.

"Yeah, that's very true." She looks at the nursery coming into view. "Judith is very cute, by the way," she comments. He smiles at her.

"Thanks," he replies. She smiles back, all fear gone. She needed to let it go every once and a while.

* * *

Annie glances into her bedroom mirror with a red blush covering her face. She couldn't believe how she had broke it the other night. She didn't think she had ever met someone so…she shakes her head. She needed to get those dirty thoughts out of her head before they traveled to far.

She runs a comb through her hair and ties it up into a high ponytail, and then glances outside at the children playing in the backyard. Kelly and Hallie were playing some sort of game outside with a couple of other kids, and some teenagers were far away watching them play.

Annie sees that one of the teens was Carl. She remembers when Kelly had told her that Carl has almost shot her, but now it seemed like that was all in the past. In fact, they looked like they were friends more than anything else. Annie had even seen them playing soccer one day, something that Annie had learned Kelly was quite good at.

She chuckles and looks back at the broken mirror when she hears the bathroom door open and sees Daryl step out, hair still wet from the shower he took. She smiles at him.

"Morning," she says to him. He smirks at her, seeing that she was only in her jeans and her bra.

"Morning to ya too," he replies, coming over and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. She leans into him while looking at the mirror. "Did we do that?" She snickers.

"Yup, we did. Didn't know you could be that rough," she says quietly. She feels him chuckle at this.

"Then ya don't know me, darlin'," he replies, kissing the area right below her ear tenderly. She smiles at the contact. His eyes travel down to the patch of ink. "What is that tat anyway?" he asks. She chuckles and turns around to look at him.

"I got it in college. It's a Latin word saying 'Let it Go.'" He raises an eyebrow at this.

"Why that?" She shrugs her shoulders.

"I always had a lot of anger in me, so I just decided to follow some advice and 'let it go.' And I have. I just wanted to get this because I thought it made me look sexy." He snickers. She smiles.

"Didn't need that to make ya look sexy," he says, giving her a soft peck on the lips. She smiles into the kiss, but pulls back a moment later.

"I heard from around that Jill finally came out from under her rock. Talking to Rick and company." She sighs. "I hope she's not mentally paralyzed." He snorts.

"She'll be fine." She rolls her eyes.

"We can't all be as stoic as you, or as mentally crazy as Carol." He sends her a playful glare at this and she smiles at him. "Only telling the truth."

"Look, I know Carol hasn't been the nicest of people to you-" She snorts this time.

"Fuck that. She hasn't been nice at all! You know why she doesn't like me? Because I'm with you! She loves you Daryl. She wants you. And that fact just adds onto the mountain of stress that is on my shoulders. I'm so afraid she's going to end up messing us up or something like that," she says quietly. He rolls his eyes at her.

"Nothin' is going to mess us up, I can tell ya that. Especially not Carol, so ya better follow your own advice and let those fears go." She laughs at this.

"You're right. I will." She hears a gleeful scream from outside and she chuckles again. "Better get out there. Don't need Hallie or Kelly getting hu-" He cuts her off with another kiss to the lips, and she replies hungrily for a second before pulling back.

"Daryl, we already broke a mirror. We don't need to break anything else," she laughs.

* * *

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	32. Santa Suit

**A/N: I've been wanting to write a chapter like this ever since chapter 30 XD Quite excited! But it might be a little short so just warning you. Don't sue me. **

* * *

**Here comes Santa Claus  
Here comes Santa Claus  
Right down Santa Claus Lane**

Vixen and Blitzen  
And all his reindeer are  
Pulling on the reins

Bells are ringing  
Children singing  
All is merry and bright

Hang your stockings  
And say your prayers  
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight

**_-Here Comes Santa Claus (Glee Version)_**

* * *

As the weather outside began to get colder, Annie would get a bit bitter each day with the growing coldness. Granted, she had grown up in New York City, and she was quite used to the cold, but they didn't have any real supplies for it. Any real clothes. At least that she knew until Jill showed up at her doorstep with literally a shit ton of supplies.

Annie had been surprised to say the least, but took the supplies with grateful hands. She was starting to get cold.

Now, she didn't know what month is was, but by her guess it had to be December or January. They had been at the safe zone for a few months, living graciously as they could with the common threat of the walkers outside. But they were still living. And Annie was getting sort of excited.

When they had gotten all those toys for the kids, they hadn't forgotten them at the store when Joel and his group came. And now both thought it was the time to sort of create a Christmas for the kids. And both really wanted it soon. They had been planning and going out to get decorations and other toys, all while being mindful of walkers and praying to God that they wouldn't run in with Joel's group.

But they had been gathering supplies either way, and it had begun to show in the main hall. And everyone had started to take some decorations and hang them up on the house. Some even took some trees to decorate. Annie didn't though. She was happy with just giving out gifts in the city hall where the tree she and Jill had decorated was.

So it had sort of started to look like a winter wonderland around them, and there seemed to be some sort of joy in the air. Something Annie hadn't seen in a long time. And she was very happy to see it as well.

So right now, she was just patrolling the wall outside. It was sort of her first time patrolling the wall, if you could believe. And the cold winter air bit her skin as she walked along it, but she didn't mind for once. She had a jacket on. One that fit her. Jill had picked it out. Sort of an early Christmas gift to her she guessed.

She had a gun in her hands, but it was late at night and she highly doubted anyone would show up. There were a few people on watch with her. There was Barbie, or Nicky, as people called her, but Annie like Barbie better. And she had to admit she saw that Barbie had guts. She was actually really impressed with some of the skills she had. Barbie had even taught her how to shoot a real legit bow and arrow. And that made her quite happy.

Nickson was patrolling too, but he was all the way on the other side of the wall, and she wouldn't run into him. To be honest Annie knew that he would be trouble, but he proved he could be a good man. That and the fact he didn't side on Blake's side when they locked him up, so that gained Annie's respect.

The only other person who was out was Carol, and to be true, Annie hadn't really taken a liking to her, but she tolerated her. She knew that maybe the threats she would send her were real, but she also believed it was because of her illness. Either way, that woman seemed to hate her more than anything else in the world. And she always had a feeling she would somehow kidnap her or kill her so she could have Daryl. She knew she like him.

But yet again she didn't care. She was just focusing on her job and looking out into the forest.

"Hi."

The sudden sound surprised her and she turns around shocked. To her right, Carol was standing there. She raises her eyebrow at her but nods anyway. She didn't know what she was up to but she would play along for now. She looks back out to the forest and nods again.

"Hey. How are you?" she asks. Carol nods at this.

"I'm good. How are you?" she asks. Annie shrugs.

"I guess I'm good." Carol nods, and then looks back at the forest. "Shouldn't you be out on the other side of the wall? Isn't that where they put you?" Carol nods.

"Yes, they did, but I wanted to apologize for how much of a bitch i've been lately." This get's Annie's attention and she turns to Carol with raised eyebrow.

"Really?" she asks. Carol nods.

"Look, I know I haven't been the most civil person as of late since you came here. The truth it, I love Daryl. I love him a lot. But I see he's happy with you. And that he loves you and those kids more then anything in the world, and his happiness is more important to me, so i'd rather see him happy." Annie stares at her for a second.

She was so lying. She lied like a rug on the ground. But Annie didn't care. She really just wanted her to get away. She didn't know if it was because of her sickness, or because of the way she said sorry, but something about this wasn't right, and Annie wasn't about to let all that get in the way of her Christmas cheer as she called it. She nods.

"You're forgiven. Just don't try anything." Carol nods. "I think you should head back to your post. They will wonder." She nods again and begins to walk off.

"I'm glad we cleared everything up. You have a good night!" Carol says to her as she walks away. Annie nods. Their slate was anything but clean.

"You too," she replies quietly.

* * *

The broken mirror was still in shatters as Annie looked into it to straighten out ehat she could of her hair. Not actually straightening it, just trying to make it look slightly better then it usually did. It had been a few days since the little encounter with Carol, but Annie wasn't letting it get to her.

She ties up her hair in a tight ponytail and smiles when she finally sees her face. Looking through the drawers, she pulls out a jacket, knowing that it was going to be freezing. It had been really cold as of late. While she gets her little outfit ready, her mind travels to some of the group, thinking back on some of the people she had come across on.

First she thinks of Jill. Oh, Jill. Her best friend. She smiles at the memory of her. She had to admit, Jill had changed so much, and doing this little Christmas thing they were doing reminded her of the Christmas's they would share at the orphanage. Santa would never come. They would somehow find gifts to give to themselves, sing Christmas carols, buy some hot chocolate, and even somehow sneak their way onto the ice at Rockefeller to skate on. But after she left, Annie all but stopped doing that stuff. Now that she was back, she wanted to do something like that again, but she knew she couldn't. There weren't any working ice skating rinks in Georgia.

But they did have hot chocolate, and they did have gifts, and they could sing Christmas carols, and they could do a lot of stuff. And now with kids all around them to add onto the fun, suddenly, this Christmas idea was getting more and more pleasurable to her.

She glances back at her bed and sits down on the covers, crossing one of her legs over the other and placing on her boots. Her mind travels from Jill to the other people. The few she had gotten to know and like. There was of course the Greene sisters. Maggie and Beth. Both were quite funny to be around, and also very nice. Maggie was actually a really good person to be around when you felt down, always cracking a few jokes to make Annie smile, and Beth was of course always in the nursery, taking care of little Judy. Or any other kid. She could have been the best nurse ever. All sweet and shit. Sometimes Annie wished she could have her sweetness.

And then her mind travels right back to Jill. She had seen something going on with her. She had seen her sometimes in the nursery taking care of Judy, and talking to Carl, and talking to Rick a lot. If she didn't know any better, she would say Jill liked him. Not that she didn't mind. She was happy to see her friend going for a good guy and not another asshole like Blake, but it also kind of felt weird to see her going for someone else. Jill had been her first love, whether she liked to admit it or not, and she had this bond with her that not a lot of people had. And she was ashamed that her bi side stuck out like a sore thumb when it came to this, but she was still very happy for her friend.

She sort of had to be.

She just loved her so much. She was practically her sister. Hell, she was her sister by now. And she didn't want to see her get hurt. But she had a feeling if anything was to happen, Rick would not be like that. She would be treat right. And if she wasn't, Annie would take Daryl's crossbow and shoot an arrow right between his eyes. She would not let something like that happen again.

Shaking her head, she gets the thoughts out and stands up, examining herself in the mirror, but is stopped in her looking when there's a small knock on the door. She furrows her brow. She knew Daryl was at one of the other mens houses, and she was suspecting something that he was going to do, but she let it go, and Kelly was with one of her friends outside. She walks over and opens up the door, and smiles when she sees her little girl.

Hallie was in that sundress Annie had gotten her months ago, but she had a sweater over her arms because of the cold. She had a scrunchy in her hands. "Can you put my hair up?" she asks. Annie chuckles and nods her head.

"Of course, sweetie," she says, coming down onto her knees and taking the scrunchy from her hands. She pulls Hallie's hair up into a high ponytail and slowly starts to tie the band around her hair. "I see you're wearing the dress." Hallie nods, causing her ponytail to go out of order. Annie frowns. "Don't do that," she says to her.

"Sorry, mommy," she says quickly, and Annie smiles at the name. She was still getting used to it, but she quite liked it. "I haven't worn it a lot, so i wanted to wear it today." Annie smiles and finishes up her ponytail, then turns her around to look at her.

"Well, i think you look perfect," she says. Hallie smiles.

"Thank you," she replies. Annie smiles again and gets up, taking her small hand in hers. She leads her to the stairs. "Do you think Santa will come? Santa never came to Kelly and I's house." Annie frowns for a second and looks down at the girl. Man, they really were like her and Jill. But she replaces it with another smile a moment after.

"I don't know...maybe. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" she says, bopping her on her nose. Hallie giggles and Annie leads her outside. "Then let's get going."

* * *

Happiness seemed to spread throughout the zone's population as everyone gathered in the city hall. Annie was sitting with Jill at the table with Kelly and Hallie, still wondering where the heck Daryl was. She and Jill had actually started to wonder where he and Rick was, and that rose their suspicions even further. But Annie and Jill had continued to talk.

"I wonder exactly where they are," Annie asks, glancing down at who was at the table. She sees Kelly and Hallie playing some sort of game with Ariel, Jill's little girl. Her blonde curls were done up in a bun and she was looking quite adorable with Hallie's hair. Jill looks up and smirks.

"Seems like your man is here," she whispers to Annie. Said girl looks up and sees Daryl rush into the room and sit down quickly next to her, then takes a sip from her mug of hot chocolate and places it back down on the table. She smiles at him all while quirking an eyebrow.

"What's got you so excited?" she giggles slightly. He spares a glance at her and then glances towards the door with a small smirk.

"Let's just say that Rick and I had a bet...and he lost." Annie's brow furrows as she goes to ask another question but stops when she hears all the kids cheer. She looks to where they were looking at and nearly looses it, placing her hands on her mouth to stop her from laughing. Now she knew why Daryl hadn't been there.

Rick.

In a fucking Santa suit.

Oh my good God.

Annie places her head back in her chair as she keeps her hand over her mouth. She could feel tears starting to form. "What bet was this?" she chokes out to Daryl, who had hand over his face to cover up his snickering. "Jesus," she laughs.

"Oh my God," she hears Jill mumble, looking down at the table. Annie snorts and bursts out laughing with a bunch of other people. Annie looks at her and then at Carl.

"Aren't you proud of your dad?" she snickers at him. Carl shakes his head and places it on the table, mumbling incoherent things while Annie continues to chuckle at everything. "This is officially the best day ever."

One by one, 'Santa,' handed out the toys that were in a bag to the kids, and each would give him a huge smile, but once he came over to where Annie, Daryl and Jill were sitting, they grin at him.

"Looking good, Grimes," Annie says quietly. Rick rolls his eyes and flips her and Daryl the bird discreetly, and she laughs. Yeah, they deserved that. "Oh come on, Santa. Don't be a Grinch!" Rick snorts.

"Be a grinch all I want to," he mumbles, moving over to the next kid. Annie grins at his back and turns to Daryl.

"I don't know what bet you had, but I don't care. This is amazing." Daryl leans back in his chair.

"Well now ya can say you've met Santa, can't ya?" he says to her. She smiles.

"Yeah, I guess I can, the skinniest and scrawniest Santa, but still Santa," she chuckles. She feels a tap on her shoulder and she looks over and sees Kelly and Hallie holding similar stuffed animals.

"Look at what Santa got me!" Hallie says happily, snuggling the toy to her chest, while Kelly smiles at her little sister. Annie chuckles.

"Hey, its better then those monster things outside, right?" Annie says, and Kelly shivers.

"By far," she replies. Before Annie could say anything, she hears a bang from besides her and quickly turns around, and then practically falls to the ground laughing. Daryl had fallen over in his chair. She leans back on the table, her hand on her stomach. She had never felt happier then she did in that moment.

"Are you ok?" she giggles. Daryl gets up quickly before more eyes could see. He sends her a playful glare at her.

"Like ya care," he grumbles, and she leans up and pecks his cheek.

"Sorry, honey, but that was just too damn funny."

* * *

**Happy Easter guys! **

**Review? :)**


	33. Taken

Omg we're so close to 100 followers! I'm so happy! This is most definitely the best day ever. Ok, with all of this happiness going on, and that fact that i'm listening to the song happy, it's going to stop. I don't know whether this chapter or next, but it will. lol jk I know when it's going to happen. XD Hope you guys had a great easter or whatever you had and lets get on with this story!

* * *

**I raise my flags, don my clothes  
It's a revolution, I suppose  
We're painted red to fit right in  
Whoa**

**I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus  
This is it, the apocalypse  
Whoa**

**I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones  
Enough to make my systems blow  
Welcome to the new age, to the new age  
Welcome to the new age, to the new age  
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive  
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive**

**All systems go, the sun hasn't died**  
**Deep in my bones, straight from inside**

_**-Radioactive (Imagine Dragons)**_

* * *

Kelly looked around the massive town the next day as Hallie and Ariel played on the swing set in the playground. Both seemed to be enjoying themselves very much, while Kelly was keeping watch for them. It was actually very early in the morning, the sun just beginning to rise. Kelly could hear the birds start to wake up as light was cascaded over their nests. It was chilly. Wind swept her off her feet as it hit her face and she snuggled deeper into her jacket.

Last night had been a lot more fun than she had expected. Granted she had never been to a Christmas party in her life. She had never even seen Santa. Rarely ever got a gift from him. And when she got older she found out at a young age that Santa wasn't a real person. That had been when Hallie was born, and that was when she was three.

Her father had never cared about Christmas. Never cared about gifts. He had believed you had to work in order to get the stuff you deserved, even little seven year old's. That's why she never got a gift, nor did Hallie. They had to 'work' to even get food, so getting a gift was a rarity. But now, in this screwed up world, she has never felt more at home then she did with this group of people.

Everyone seemed to care about her and Hallie. About what happened to them, unlike their parents before. They all seemed to love them and be there for them. Even Jill seemed to love her and Hallie. Then again, she was more like their aunt, wasn't she? Didn't Annie say that she was her sister? Kelly shrugs her shoulders at the thought. She didn't care. They still cared about her never the less. And she actually liked it. And being there with her family the other night, and seeing Rick come out in a saggy Santa suit, but still put a smile on the kids faces, made her like it even more.

She sees Ariel and Hallie begin to climb one of the pieces and she places her hands up in her hair in worry. "Guys, be careful!" she yells to them. They look down at her worried expression and giggle, then go and continue climbing. Kelly rolls her eyes. Yup, they took after their mothers. Always going out for danger. Wait, did that make Ariel her cousin? Urg, this was driving her insane! A seven year old should not be thinking of stuff this complicated.

She glances back down the street at where she and Hallie had come from. It was early, and most of everyone was still asleep, including Daryl and Annie. She feels the corners of her mouth turn up at the thought of them. Even though she was seven, she had never seen two people more in love and out for each other than those two. Except maybe Annie and Jill, but they had been friends since they were kids. Kelly at least knew that. And she also knew how Annie and Daryl came together, and it was a sweet story, one that she like to hear over and over again. It was a slow start, took them a month, and it built up to something great.

She didn't like how her old mom and dad came together. They had met in college, went out for a week, broke up, and then he got with another girl and she got with another guy, and they were happy with them, but then they got drunk. And they were in the same place when they were drunk. And they kissed. And it led on from that. Nine months later, Kelly had been born because of their night, and both had to break up to support her.

And then three years later, after more of the same drama happened, they had Hallie.

It wasn't the least bit romantic as the way Annie had told how she and Daryl came together. Even their storytelling was different from her old mom and dad. And she liked them so much more then her old mom and dad. They were so much better in so many ways, and all she wanted to do was be just as brave as them. She had even thought about asking them to let her learn how to use a bow and arrow, but she had a feeling they wouldn't.

Kelly looks behind her and sees something move from the shadows. She narrows her eyes to get a better look but is stopped when she hears Ariel's gleeful scream. She turns around and smiles at the two small girls. Ariel was looking down the street. "What are you looking at, Ari?" she asks. Ariel looks back with a smile.

"I think I saw a puppy!" she yells, walking over to where she saw it. Hallie's eyes brighten as she starts to follow, but Kelly runs up to her and grabs her arm gently.

"What?" Hallie asks annoyed. Kelly spares her a glance.

"Let her go. I'm sure it's not a puppy," Kelly says, rolling her eyes at the small girl running off to the bushes to look inside. Kelly watches her as she looks, a small smirk on her face at the little girl's naiveness, but feels something hovering over her shoulder. Turning her head, sh6e looks behind her and sees nothing. Her brow furrows. She could have sworn she felt someone there.

She turns back to the little girl but suddenly find herself with a hand over her mouth and another arm pulling her back, as well as Hallie, who seemed like she was about to cry. Kelly was about to scream but she finds a gun against her temple. She stops her struggling as the man pulls her back just as the other was pulling Hallie back.

"Say one word and you and your sister is dead," the man growls, and she nods only a little, not to anger the man. He practically drags her to a car and throws her in the backseat, and Hallie follows strongly after, landing on Kelly's lap painfully. Kelly flinches at the pain but stares at Hallie as she looks around frightfully. Looking at the two men, they had masks. She didn't know who they were at all.

"What's happening, Kelly?" Hallie asks with fear evident in her voice. Kelly takes her in her arms and places her head on the top of Hallie's.

"I don't know, Hallie, but we'll get out of this. You just wait." The men get in the car after a conversation and start to car without a word.

Ariel comes out from the bushes at hearing a car start up. She runs back to the playground and sees it take off, and then sees Kelly and Hallie weren't anywhere in sight. She watches the car drive off, and then one word cries out from her mouth.

"MOMMY!"

* * *

Annie's eyes opened to an empty bed the next morning. She yawns and leans up in her bed, stretching her arms. It was still early in the morning, but Daryl was still up before her. Half the time he always was. Maybe it was that he had that sort of life before all of this, but she still didn't understand that because she was always the first one up in the orphanage, even before Jill, who used to be the biggest early bird ever.

She looks out the window and smiles as she sees the sun finally setting in the sky, in the perfect place for the morning. Looking at the clock over the bathroom, she sees it was about eight thirty. Jeez, it wasn't that early after all.

The door opens and she sees Daryl step in with a cup of something in his hands. She smiles at him as he closes the door. He looks over to the bed and sees her leaning against the headboard with her knees propped up to her chest. He smirks at her. "Look who's up," he states, coming over and sitting next to her on the side of the bed. She smiles wider.

"I see you're up. But then again, you always are before me most of the time." He chuckles and hands her one of the cups. "What's this?" she asks. He shrugs.

"Coffee, or whatever I found downstairs." She quirks an eyebrow at him.

"Whatever you found?" she imitates. "Should I be afraid?" He shrugs his shoulders again.

"That's up to ya," he replies, but she could see the hint of another smirk forming. She looks at the liquid in the cup and then back at him before hesitantly taking a sip. She swallows. It didn't taste that bad.

"Not that bad," she says to him, taking another sip. "It's coffee. Barely grounded, no milk, or any whip cream, but still coffee." He snorts.

"Whip cream? What kind of coffee is that? Some frape shit?" She giggles.

"It's still good!" she counters, taking another sip. "No matter how fancy it sounds, but this is still worth it. Coffee is coffee." She places it on the bedside table they had put together and looks at him. "So are we going out today or anything? Because after last night I'm still on a giddy high." His eyebrows raise.

"A giddy high?" he asks. She laughs.

"After seeing Rick in a Santa suit and seeing you fall over in your chair? Yeah, I am." He rolls his eyes at the latter and leans back in the bed.

"It wasn't that funny," he mumbles, looking down at the bed. She tilts her head to the side and scooches over to him. Placing a hand on his scruffy chin, she tilts his head up and looks at his light blue eyes. Her brow furrows as she actually sees a bit of hurt in his eyes. Something told her she had hit a sensitive spot in his past.

She leans in and places her lips on his, moving her hand away from his face and placing it on the back of his head, pulling him closer. He replies by kissing her back hungrily, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her onto his lap. She wraps her legs around him as her hands start to travel downwards. But before it could be taken anywhere she pulls back and places her forehead on his.

"You know I'm just kidding about the whole chair thing, right?" she says. He chuckles at this and pecks her lips again. When he pulls back he stares at her, this time with a small smile on his face. She tilts her head to the side again. "What?" He shakes his head.

"Just lookin' at ya beautiful self," he says quietly, placing a hand on her cheek and leaning in again. She smiles when his lips connect to hers. She pulls him down to the mattress and he places his hands upward so he wasn't completely covering her, but still close enough for their lips to touch. She places her arms around his neck and pulls back to get air, but he only moves his mouth to her neck. She gasps in pleasure as he begins to suck at her skin.

"Jesus, Daryl," she groans. She feels him chuckle against her skin as he pulls back up to look at her.

"Can't help it, darlin'. Just so delicious can't help but bite at ya," he replies, taking her lips again. She smiles.

"Do you know how cheesy that is?" she says against his lips, but he simply snickers and continues to kiss her. But the hurt look before that he had was still on her mind. She pulls back and looks at him concerned. "Are you ok? You looked sort of...sad." He looks down and she leans up in the bed, taking his face in her hands. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" she quietly says. He's silent, just looking down at the mattress with sort of a sullen look. "Daryl." He sighs and moves his head slightly, bu he still wasn't looking at her.

"I'm fine," he replies. She snorts quietly at this.

"If you were, you would be looking at me." He finally looks up at her, but looks down a moment later. "See? Daryl, look at me," she repeats-well, more like commands. And he follows, his eyes connecting with hers. "Now tell me what's wrong. Don't keep it all bottled in. It's bad." He stares at her for a moment before sighing. He knew he wouldn't get out of this even if he tried. Annie was impossible to escape.

"My...my dad wasn't a good guy," he starts, and she nods, knowing this already. "After he'd...have his way with me, he'd laugh while I'd try to get up from the ground, all bleedin' and shit...He'd be drunk, but it still stuck." She nods. This was the rare Daryl that she barely saw. The vulnerable one. The broken one. She leans in and connects her lips to his, but this time much more gentle then before. And he replies just as gentle. When she pulls back, she places her hand on his cheek, caressing it slightly.

"Thank you for telling me that," she replies. "And I know how you feel. There was this one girl at my orphanage. Emma. She...she was sort of the bull around the area. She was the only kid that the caretakers and teachers didn't bother with because she was so scary. One time, I sort of sneaked in on her changing once, and it was not a pretty sight," she snickers. "I took a picture and showed it to the others. She found out. So that night, she dragged me out of bed-might I add from the top bunk-and took me to the roof and beat me to a pulp. And i only showed it to three other people. When I tried to get up, she sneered at me and told me I was weak, and that I didn't deserve to live on this world. That I meant nothing. And then she'd just laugh. Ironic is that she eventually got adopted." He snorts.

"That bitch got adopted but ya didn't?" She laughs.

"I found out later on she ended up in jail, so life didn't work out for her." He laughs at this, then takes her hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

"How did I end up with someone like ya?" he asks, his forehead against hers again. She smiles and shrugs her shoulders.

"Oh, I don't know. Apocalypse, crazy people. Either way, we're here right now, and that's all that matters." He caresses her cheek.

"I love ya so much," he whispers, and she smiles.

"I love you, too," she replies, then kisses him as he captures her lips with his. Just as her hands traveled under his shirt, she hears the doorbell downstairs ring. That was weird. They never rang to the doorbell. She pulls back. "The doorbell rang. Must be something important." He gives her an unimpressed look.

"So? Can't they wait?" She rolls her eyes and gently pushes him off of her.

"No, it can't," she replies, straightening up her shirt. "I suggest you get yourself all fixed up." She hears him groan frustrated and she smiles as she goes down the stairs and to the front door. She spares a glance at the girls room and see the door closed. They must have still been asleep. She walks to the front and opens the door, and is met by Jill and Ariel.

A very stricken looking Jill and a crying Ariel.

Annie's brow furrows at the two of them. "What's wrong? What happened?" She leans down and looks at Ariel. "Ari are you ok?" she asks. Annie feels a hand on her shoulder and looks up at Jill. She gets up from her position and stares at Jill.

"Daryl needs to be here, too," she says, and Annie looks confused at her. What the hell happened?

"Daryl, we need you here," she says loud enough for him to hear. A moment later he comes down the steps and appears at her side.

"What's going on?" he asks. Jill sighs and looks at the two of them.

"It's about Kelly and Hallie."

* * *

Annie's head was in her hands as she stared at the ground while the people fought above her. Kelly and Hallie. Taken. Gone. And she knew exactly who took them from her. But right now, she felt herself in a state of shock at the fact that they were actually gone.

"What were they even doing out that early? Kids aren't up that early!" Nickson yells at Jill.

"It's my fault!" Ariel says from the chair she was sitting in. All of the adults heads travel to her. "I went to their house and ask them to play. If I didn't go they would still be here. I'm so sorry," she cries. Jesus, how old was she? Jill walks over and takes her in her arms.

"It's ok, Ariel. It's fine."

"No, it's not!" Daryl suddenly says from where he was. Up until this point he had been silent with rage, but at hearing this statement he couldn't hold it back much longer. "Kelly and Hallie we're taken by two crazy people to who the hell knows where, and we have no clue where the fuck they are. How did the people get in in the first place?! Don't we have guards all around here?!" By this point he was screaming and Rick had to pull him back from destroying anything in his path.

"Daryl, you need to calm down." Daryl gives him the best death glare he could muster.

"Calm down? Are ya fuckin' serious? Rick, what if this was Carl? What if they took him?" That had hit something.

"That's-"

"Don't ya dare say it's different, because it ain't. That boy's your son. Those girls are mine. And i'm not about to let them get taken by this." Annie looks up at this and feels a smile on her face. That was practically the first time he said something like that. She gets up from her seat and walks over.

"He has a point Rick," she states to him, but then turns to Daryl. "But you do need to calm down. Screaming isnt going to help. And it's scaring Ariel." He looks over and sees the little girls head buried in her mother's shoulder. "We need to think of this rationally."

"Did someone let them in?" Jill suggests. Annie nods.

"That could happen. And if we find the person that did, they're dead meat," Rick says. "But who would take them?"

"We know," both Annie and Daryl say. Jill, Rick and Nickson all look at her with interest. "Joel."

"Oh, shit has anyone checked Blake's cell?" Jill asks fearful. Nickson bangs the table with his hand and points at her.

"That's it. He got out. There was a window in the cell. He must have broken the chains and gotten out. And brought those fuckers back and taken the kids. There has to be some sort of clue or something." All looked lost for a second before Ariel speaks up again.

"There was wheel tracks," she says quietly. Annie looks at Daryl.

"Tire tracks," she says to him. He nods sharply.

"Let's go," he says, taking a gun from the table, but Rick stops him.

"Whoa, slow down. You guys can't do this alone." Both were about to interject but Jill cuts them off.

"He's right. You don't know how many there are, and we're all in this together. I'm in. Let me place Ariel back with Rachel," she says, leaving the room. Rick looks at the two.

"So am I," he says. They look at Nickson and he raises his hands in surrender.

"I may seem like a bad guy but these are kids. I'm all in." He smirks. "Let's kill these fuckers." Rick places a hand up.

"No matter how tempting that is, we need a plan before we go. We need to talk it over with Jill. Nickson, come with me," he states. Nickson follows him easily out the door, leaving Annie and Daryl by themselves. She looks up at him.

"They took them," she states.

"I know." She nods and walks up to him.

"We're gonna kill them, right?" she asks. He snorts.

"Ya bet your ass we are." She smiles small but then looks down.

"What if they're doing stuff to them?" she whispers. He shakes his head and tilts her head up to look at him.

"They ain't. They don't got the balls to do it. They should know we'll kill them by now, but apparently they didn't get the message. They'll be gone by sunlight." She nods and he leans in, kissing her slowly. She smiles and pulls back.

"Let's kill these fuckers," she states, taking his hand and leading him out. "I don't think I've ever liked Nickson so much for saying one thing." He shrugs.

"I couldn't agree more with what he said." She laughs.

"Me too."

* * *

**Review? :)**


	34. Screams

thanks for all the new reviews and followers. I'm happy so many people want me to keep updating. :) And this is going to be one LONG chapter. So stay tuned :)

* * *

**I figured it out**  
** I figured it out from black and white**  
** Seconds and hours**  
** Maybe they had to take some time**

**I know how it goes**  
** I know how it goes from wrong and right**  
** Silence and sound**  
** Did they ever hold each other tight**  
** Like us**  
** Did they ever fight**  
** Like us**

**You and I**  
** We don't wanna be like them**  
** We can make it till the end**  
** Nothing can come between**  
** You and I**  
** Not even the Gods above can**  
** Separate the two of us**  
** No nothing can come between**  
** You and I**  
** Oh, you and I**

_**-You and I (One Direction)**_

* * *

Kelly's eyes snapped open as she heard a scream echo throughout a building somewhere. She looks around where she was and furrows her brow. Where exactly was she? She looks down on the ground and sees Hallie passed out beside her, her eyes softly closed as she breathed in and out. Se looked so in peace at that moment, but where they were was nothing short of peace.

She glances up and sees that she was behind some sort of set of bars. It wasn't really a cell, more like a cage. A very big one at that. She moves Hallie to the side gently and crawls up to the bars at the front, setting her hands on them. Just to make sure, she pulls on door but it doesn't budge. Of course it was locked. Why wouldn't it be?

Looking over to the door on the other side of the room, she was almost expecting someone to burst in at that moment and take her and her sister away to be eaten or something like that, but it stayed still. It didn't open and no one came in to take them. Her eyes travel to the table that was in the middle of the room, and she could make out a few weapons on top of it as well, also a few maps, and a set of keys. She wondered who exactly these people were until everything came rushing back to her. What Annie had told her about. Who else would just take them like that? This was Joel's group.

The spaces in between the bars seemed to be big enough for her to slip through, though. Maybe she could simply slip through easily and take the keys off the table and let her sister go and they could find a way out. They could make their way back to Aasim and everything would be alright. But those thoughts were destroyed when she sees the door she had been staring at now burst open with a couple of men. One tall with a scraggly beard, one short with a shot gun, and the other was Blake.

She lays back down on the ground discreetly so none of them would know she was awake. She couldn't let them know she was awake at all. She hears their footsteps come closer and closer to the cage, bu they stop once they reach the table. All three look at the maps and pieces of paper. Kelly opens one of her eyes to get a peak at them. She knew Blake was bad, but she didn't think he would just take them like this.

"Are you sure this will bring those two to us?" the tall one asks. Blake nods.

"Positive. Annie and Daryl love those kids more than anything else in this world." The tall man nods and turns to the girls, and Kelly closes her eye and pretends to be asleep. "If you mind me asking Joel, what exactly did they do that makes you want to hurt them? I don't like them either, but-"

"They killed people. Good people. They had kept my brother and I going since the beginning of this. And when he passed away, they were there. And they just killed them. People like that? They need to be erased from this world." Kelly thinks back to what Annie said. That was certainly not the story that she had told her. In fact, didn't he eat his brother for dinner? They knew Walt and Patty. And it seemed Joel was remembering now. "Wait a minute. I know these girls."

"You do?" Blake and the small one asks. Joel nods.

"Their parents stopped by the farm that Walt and Patty had. They turned out to be crazies, and they tried to kill us. The kids were in on them too. Huh, looks like they found a new set of parents." The small one comes forward.

"You killed their parents?" he asks. Joel shrugs.

"It was either them or us. We had to." Kelly feels tears start to form at the edge of her eyes. That was a complete lie! Even though their parents hadn't been the best parents, they had still protected them from Joel and Walt and Patty. They were all crazy! They all wanted to eat them! And Joel was telling lies! And he wasn't supposed to tell lies! Lies were bad. At least that's what Annie had told her.

"Were they really that bad?" he asks. Joel nods.

"Yeah, they were. And now we have the kids again. I guess what comes around goes around." Kelly opens her eyes again. Joel was looking at the door. "Blake and Simon, head back to the main building and take care of those kids that are screaming. Heaven knows that we can't afford to have that shit here. Attracting all these infected on us." Both nod and leave the room without another word. Kelly closes her eyes again as Joel looks at the cage for the second time. She hears him sigh and then hears him say, "I know you're awake, Kelly."

Her eyes open and she sits up in the cage, glaring at him. "You're a liar! They weren't crazy! They were trying to protect us!" Joel chuckles and comes to the cage, and kneels down to her eye level.

"Sweetie, do you think they'll believe a seven year old over a grown man?" That rendered her silent, but she still kept her glare in place. He gives her a wicked grin. "That's a good girl. Keep that little ol' mouth shut. It'll make things a lot easier for you and your sister." She keeps glaring at him before she looks back at her still sleeping sister.

"Where are we?" she asks quietly. "What are you going to do?" Joel chuckles lowly and stands up, going over to the table.

"You are in my camp, sweetie. And you're the key, to getting those assholes back here." She cringes at the use of his language, but lets him continue. "Want to know how I got in? How we got you and your little girl out?" She keeps staring at him. "Well, that old man there, Blake, is his name?" She nods softly. "Well, seems he hadn't been treated all that right back at that old safe zone of yours. Got jailed for smacking a girl-"

"He did more then that," she interrupts, but Joel comes forward and smacks her across the face through the bars, sending her to the ground front the force.

"Don't fucking interrupt me. You keep that mouth shut and your death won't be as painful as some of us plan it." Her eyes widen slightly at this but she nods and lets him go on, cradling her cheek in her hand. There was going to be a bruise. "So we found this out through a reliable source as your camp. See, how did we find it? Well, we went to this place called Terminus. Have you heard?" Kelly nods. Annie had talked about it when they got back from getting the toys.

"Well, we went there, and it seemed to be sort of a bust. All there was were a few starving people and a sign that said to go to this place called 'Aasim.' So we took the people and we fed them, and they became quite devoted to us. When we found the place, we heard your little mama's voice, Annie talking to another women. Jill, I think her name is? And when i found this out, i started to plan to get in, but realized the place was too heavily guarded to even try to get in. But then I met this women who didn't really like Annie. Said that she 'stole Daryl from her' or something like that." Kelly's eyes widened. She knew who it was.

"So the women told us about Blake and everything because she wanted Annie gone. Little did she know that we would lurk Daryl here as well. Oh well for her. So she led us in, and she he'd us to Blake, and we let him out. And he swore he would do anything to get to Annie, so he helped us. And we stole you guys. Now, I'm sure that other little girl saw and told them and now they're on their way. So now we got them right where we want them." Kelly looks up with her eyes slightly closed, but she wouldn't go to sleep. The pain hurt from the slap, but she would stay up.

"What are you going to do to us?" she asks, gesturing to Hallie and herself. Joel smirks.

"Well, here at our little camp, we have a policy. See, we're all a very close group, and when some people step into it, we're not all to kind. If you're not already dead by the time Annie and Daryl get here, i guess you and you're sister will be put to good use with the men." Her eyes widen. So either her sister and her were killed or they are used by a bunch of rapists. Well, this place was the bees knees. She looks up at him from the ground.

"What were those screams?" she whispers.

"Just more of the kids having fun," he says to her. She crawls up to the bars and places her hands on the metal rods, pulling herself up from the ground.

"You're sick," she states to him. "And mean. And a liar. And Hallie and I will get saved. And you won't hurt Annie and Daryl. They'll kill you first." Joel lets out a snort as he comes on down to her height again and roughly takes her chin in his hands, causing her to flinch.

"You think you're so tough, huh? You think you and your sister will be ok?" She keeps his stare but nods. He smiles evilly. "Let's put that to the test, why don't we? Looks like you won't be around to see you're precious protectors again. Then again, we have guards everywhere. There's no way they will get in without getting shot." He turns to something on his belt and pulls it out, then clicks a button and static is heard. He places it to his mouth and speaks into it. "Simon, get a room ready for these kids. Looks like they need a lesson."

"Yes sir," the voice replies, and he cuts off. Joel looks to her again and smiles.

"We're about to have some fun," he snarls at her, picking her up by her shirt. She cries out but only for a second because his hand had covered her mouth. He walks over to Hallie and kicks her, and she cries out in her sleep. "Get up, girl!" She looks up at the man in fright and he picks her up by her shirt too. Kelly kept her mouth shut.

* * *

The group from Aasim hadn't bothered taking a car to follow the tracks. It would be better on foot. That way they could sneak in easier without causing any sound. They all knew wherever they were there would be guards, and there would be plenty of them. And knowing their luck, they needed to take them all out. Annie was focused on the ground as the men followed the tracks and she and Jill stayed back. Personally, she felt like she was on the edge of exploding. She felt like her whole entire being was being pushed to the limit. And she felt like this until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She glances up and looks at Jill's troubled eyes. "Annie-" Annie looks back down.

"Don't bother, Jillian," she says, using her full name. Jill takes her hand away, shocked she had used her full name, but she shakes that feeling away and places it back on her shoulder a second later.

"We will find them, Annie. And we'll take them back. And we will kill Joel and every single person helping him." Annie looks up at her, hearing this.

"Jill...they took my kids away from me. You don't know what the history is between Joel and Daryl and I. And that fact is adding onto the stress that I have no clue what the hell they are doing to them, or what state they're in, or if they're...dead or not. And I just don't know what to do. Blake's with them, for God's sake! Who knows what ideas he has in that devil head of his! I...I don't know anymore." She feels unshed tears start to brim at the corners of her eyes, but she blinks and forces them to go away. Jill sighs and steps closer to her, now moving her hand down to hers. Annie looks at her stunned. "What are you doing?"

Jill laughs.

"Don't you remember? When you would get scared in the orphanage, whether it was Miss Destiny or a thunderstorm or whatever, I would hold your hand and you would calm down, and the fear would just drizzle away." Annie looks down at the ground with a small smile on her face, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. Jesus, she still remembered that?

"Well, this isn't the orphanage anymore. And this isn't a damn thunderstorm," she states. "But thanks." Jill smiles at her and Annie smiles back, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. She pulls away a moment later.

"Good. I thought you would think i'm crazy and wanted to get in your pants or something like that," Jill states quickly, and Annie laughs quietly.

"Sorry, i'm taken," she says, holding out her hand. Jill laughs and looks forward.

"That's fine with me. I got my eyes on someone else anyway," she replies. Annie raises an eyebrow, even though she knew who it was.

"Who?" she asks dumbly, looking forward. She gasps. "Nickson?" Jill slaps her shoulder.

"No!" she whispers. Annie smiles. "Plus, I think he likes Nicky anyway." Annie's eyes widen.

"Barbie?" she asks, and Jill turns away to hide her amused laughter. "Really?"

"Yeah," she chokes out through her quiet laughter. "My God, Barbie," she states. "That is the best nickname-wait, guys, the tracks lead over there!" she says to a path in the first. There were two sets of tracks.

"Shit, there's two sets," Nickson states, looking town the road. Jill looks at them.

"I think the tracks int he forest are the ones leading towards the camp they're at. Or wherever they are. They would be hidden in the trees." Annie nods.

"I think she's right. Joel would feel at home in the forest, wouldn't he?" she asks Daryl. He nods as well. "Then let's get going."

* * *

An area of buildings appears from tracking in the forest. And sure enough Annie and Jill had been right. Around the area there were a bunch of guards staying in front of any entrances, or any way they could get inside really. There was a huge gate around it, and Annie knew just from looking at it that there would have to be plenty of sneaking around to find their way in. They all hide behind a boulder that stood in front of one of the guards, but it seemed they didn't hear them.

"We need to take them out," Annie says quietly as she looks behind her. "All of them. Especially if we want to get in. They're everywhere." Daryl looks to the other side and sees plenty of trees and rocks.

"Rick, Jill, head over to the left and take care of those assholes near the side," he says. Both nod, but stop when suddenly a light shines over the forest. They had been tracking all day, and by now it was night time, and the lights were out. "And avoid that light." Jill rolls her eyes.

"Obviously," she whispers fiercely. She walks over to Annie and places her arms around her in a tight hug. "Stay safe," she whispers, and Annie simply nods. She looks at Nickson. "Have fun using that knife of yours Nickson." He smirks and pulls it out. "And you keep her safe, Dixon. Or else i'll skin your ass." She turns back to Rick and nods at him, and both wait for the light to pass before setting off to the other side.

"Nickson, you head over there," Annie says. "I'm sure you want to take 'em out alone, right?" He snorts quietly.

"Hell yeah," he replies, starting to head to the right side, but Annie places a hand on his arm to stop him.

"First off, thanks for coming. I didn't think you cared that much," she states. He stares for a minute but shrugs his shoulders and goes back to his knife. "Second, any person you see that may be in trouble, any kid for that matter, save them and take them along once you get in. We can't let any kids loose their lives thanks to these assholes." He nods.

"Well, the longer you stop me the more time we have to lose," he states, and she immediately lets go of his arm. "You get your girls back," he says lastly, and then takes off when the light is in the other direction. When he's out of sight, Annie turns to Daryl and then looks down.

"Ready?" she asks, taking out her knife.

"Course I am," he replies. He looks over and sees fear written all over her face. "Annie, ya need to stop worrying. We'll find those kids, we'll get 'em out of there. But right now, we need to take these assholes out." She looks up and smiles at him, but stops when she hears voices talking on the other side of the boulder. The light passes over quickly.

"Did ya hear about that little girl Joel's been on?" one of the men says to the other guard. They were facing the other way. Annie feels her body tense up at this. The other guard nods.

"Yeah, been beating her in front of her little sister. Talk about hardcore dude. Told me the kids parents killed someone close to him for no reason." Annie glares at her knife as they said that. She throws it to the side and the guards hear it land in the pile of sticks and stones. "What's that?" one of them asks.

"I don't know, but they'll be dead soon," the other replies. Both start to walk towards the knife while Annie and Daryl sneak behind them. When they weren't looking, Annie jumps up and slams her knife into one of the guards heads, Daryl following her. Both fall slump and collapse on the ground. Annie takes the ammo from their side and places it in her gun. She turns to Daryl.

"They were talking about Kelly and Hallie, weren't they?" she asks fearfully. Daryl nods.

"I can only bet," he says quietly, and then hides as two more guards appear out of nowhere. They see the two guards on the ground and aim their guns up.

"Who's there?" they shout. Annie snorts and shoots her pistol at the guys head, and he falls over dead. The other one turns around and tares shocked at the two intruders, but didn't get another word out before a bullet rang through his head. Both hear the guards start to shout at each other, and Annie heard another guy say, "SPREAD OUT!"

"Shit," Daryl whispers. They both look and is surprised to find the gate door there. Annie opens it slowly and seeing the coast was clear, they step inside and close the door behind them. Seeing more guards coming out, they go to hide behind some sort of bench and wait for them to go to the door. When they get there, Annie suddenly feels an over sensible rage come over her and she starts to shoot every single one of them in sight. "Annie!" Daryl shouts over her, but she kept shooting.

Somehow, she had gotten all of them. Her rage had gotten all of them for her. She looks and sees Daryl had gotten up and had spared a few shots in for her as well, and she stares at him. "I shot the shit out of them, didn't I?" she asks breathlessly. He spares a chuckle and grabs her hand, puling her behind one of the buildings.

"Yeah, ya did, but we need to get to the main building. And somethin' tells me that's it over there," he says, pointing to the building that had the light. "Need to take out the gaur-" He'-s cut off by the two guards in front going down, and both see two figures emerge from there and go to the steps. "Jesus, Rick," he mumbles.

"Jill's there?" Annie asks. Daryl nods.

"And they just cleared our way in. Let's go."

* * *

Rick and Jill made there way into the giant building that had the light on top. Looking around, Jill notices that it must have been a hospital before everything went down. There were stretchers everywhere, some medicine on the ground, and an empty receptionist desk in the front. She looks around the area quickly but stops when she hears painful screams coming from the top floor. She sprints towards the stairs, but Rick quickly pulls her back from going any further. She glares at him.

"What?" she asks angrily. "Didn't you hear that?" He nods.

"Of course I did, but we have to be quiet about this. Not just go bounding up the stairs where we could daily be heard," he states quietly, and his point was further addressed when he hears mountains of footsteps coming down the opposite staircase. Rick pulls Jill down and hides her behind one of the stretchers as the group passes, and when they do, he looks at her. "See my point?" he asks. She rolls her eyes.

"Yes, I do," she replies. "But we need to get up there-" Another cringe worthy scream. "Now!" she adds, going to the stairs again, but this time more quietly. Rick rolls his eyes at her but follows her up the stairs just as quietly. When she reaches the top, she's suddenly grabbed in a chokehold from one of the guards staying behind. Before Rick could get to her, she bangs the guys with her elbow in the face, causing him to let go, and she takes out her gun and shoots him. Rick sees the blood splatter when he gets to the top.

"Nice you could join me, Grimes," she states sarcastically.

"Looks like you can handle yourself," he states, looking at the dead man. The sound of footsteps quiet them and she leans behind the counter near her, waiting for the sound to pass. Whens she sees lights heading her way, she grabs Rick's hand and pulls him to where she was hiding. Three more guards show up with assault rifles and look at the dead body.

"Jesus Christ," one of them mumble, then talk into a walkie on his belt. "Jessie is dead. I repeat, Jessie is dead," he says into the mic. He pulls back. "We need to find these people. Now." Jill backs up into the corner as the three spread out, where the darkness was. She either had to kill all of them or get shot trying to escape. She looks at Rick and both nod, an unsaid agreement.

Time to kill these fuckers.

* * *

The door burst open and Joel looks up from the bloody mess.

"Joel, they came," a guard says. Joel smiles and looks down at Kelly.

"Told you they would, little girl." He looks up at Simon, who was holding a crying and beat up Hallie in his arms. "Simon, get the guns. We're about to have some fun," he snarls. Simon nods and drops the girl on the ground, to which she lets out a cry and tries to get herself up. Joel picks Kelly up. "I'm surprised you're not dead yet. You'll be even more fun once these people are gone. See you soon," he growls at her, then throws her onto the ground. She rolls over to her back and cringes when it touches the cold stone floor.

The two men and the guard shut the door and lock it.

Hallie looks up and crawls over as quick as he could to Kelly, and feels her tears start to happen again.

Kelly looks up at her sister and gives her a soft smile. "Hey, Hallie," she chokes out. Hallie outs her small hands on her face and almost begins to sob at her sisters mangled up body. Joel had hurt almost every single part of her. All her arms had gashes in them from where he had cut them, all steadily bleeding. Her chest had been punched and kicked so many times that she was bound to have a broken rib, or something like that. Her legs had been bruised, and Hallie could see that one of her ankles had now been sprained. Her face was covered in cuts and bruises, and her right eye was slightly swollen. Her hair was a mess, and was caked in blood and skin from all skins.

"Kelly," she whimpers, holding her face in her hands. "No...no, you can't die. You can't-" She chokes up as a few stray tears escape her eyes.

"Hey, hey, who said i was going to die?" Kelly replies softly, but also regretting some of her words because she cringes as she says them. "But you need to get out of here, or else they'll get you next." Hallie shakes her head.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," she replies. Kelly tries to sit up, but fails miserably and ends up leaning against the wall.

"Hallie," she groans out. "You...you need to get...get out," she says to her, pain finally starting to set in. "You need to go...go and find...Annie and get...get out." Hallie comes over and takes her away from the wall.

"I'm not leaving you!" she cries, looking around for something. She needed to help Kelly, and fast. She looks around and finds an old, beat up rag on the floor. She crawls over and grabs it, then ties it to Kelly's bleeding side. "We will get out of this. I don't know how, but we will. We're going to see mommy and daddy again, and we will be fine." Kelly smiles up at her sister.

"When did you grow up?" she asks softly, and Hallie smiles.

"I'm not leaving you," she repeats, laying down next to her. Kelly feels her eyes close. "You need to stay up!" Hallie cries.

"I'll try," was her reply.

* * *

Bloody. Soaked in Blood. Whatever you wanted to call it. That was what Jill was. So was Rick. Both needed shower very badly by this point. They had killed the three guards that were around them, and the more that had come when they heard the struggle, and she knew there would be more on the way, but for now, she simply wiped the blood off her face. "I didn't think there would be that many of them," Jill whines as she wipes off the blood from her mouth. "Now my tongue tastes like iron."

Another ear piercing scream.

"What the hell is that?" Rick asks. Jill goes towards the next set of stairs.

"A little kid, that's exactly what it is." She goes up the stairs and hears the scream again, Rick right behind her. Going to the door, she finds it locked, but using the last bit of her strength, she kicks it open. Inside was a little girl, maybe two years old, and she was tied to a chair, blood everywhere. She was stabbed, cut, anything that could describe hurt she was. Jill begins to walk over to the little girl but is stopped when she feels someone hit the back of her head, and then two arms drag her on the floor.

"Jill!" Rick yells, running over to the man that was holding her, but is stopped when someone grabs his firmly from behind. He struggles against the grip but is stopped when he hears a familiar voice talk to him.

"One move, and she's gone," he says, pointing his gun towards Jill, who had a knife pressed up against her throat from one of the other men.

"Nice to see you too, Blake," he manages as the hold tightens.

"I know you'd recognize me, Grimes," he snarls. "Looks like the whore found herself a new piece of meat to suck," he taunts. "Tell me, Grimes. Is she good? Little bitch always avoided doing that to me."

"Shut up," Rick snarls, trying to get out of this grip.

"Ah, what did I say? One move and she's gone," he says, pointing his gun at Jill. Rick stops moving. Blake smiles. "Aw, I knew you cared. Okay. Here's the deal. Either you let me take her and I'll let you go back to Aasim, unharmed, and we'll take 'good care of her,' or we can kill you both. You choose."

"Never," Rick snarls. Blake frowns mockingly.

"Really? Oh, that sucks. Looks like we'll be doing this in front of a little girl. She's already hurt enough. Sad, but true. Time to say goodbye," he says, pointing the gun at Rick's temple and placing his hand on the trigger. Just when he was about to let the bullet fly, Jill cries out from the person holding her.

"WAIT!" she yells. Blake looks up at her from the gun, and Rick manages a glance at her. "I'll go with you, just don't hurt him."

"Jill-" Rick starts, but Blake smiles and nods.

"Good girl. We have a nice place for you here. Somewhere you will be nicely treated, just like you treated me back at Aasim. Remember that? The jail cell?" She looks down as the man pushes her forward. "It'll be fun. You'll be joining Kelly and all those little girls."

"Jill," Rick tries again, trying to break free from his grip, but it was too strong and Jill was at the door. It all seemed pointless, but when Jill suddenly stops and pulls out a hidden knife from her boot, stabbing the person in the leg, it surprises Rick to no end. Blake sees this and drops Rick to the ground, shooting his gun at her. She dodges the gunshots and stabs the man in the chest.

He falls to the ground in pain and she goes for the little girl who was now crying, and Blake goes to attack her, but then Rick jumps up from behind and pushes him back into the wall, slamming his head into the hard concrete. He sees blood splatter on the back, and Blake passes out. Rick goes over to Jill as she unties the little girl from the ropes. She falls into Jill's arms, sobs racking her body.

"You really scared me there, Jill," Rick says, staying by the door to make sure no one else would get in. She snorts.

"Do you really think I would willingly go with him? Please!" She turns to the little girl-who's blood now added to hers on her shirt. "Little girl, what did they do? What's your name?" The girl continues to sob.

"Wanna go. Wanna go," she repeats over and over. Jill knew she wouldn't be getting anything out of this girl until they got her out of there. She turns to Rick.

"We need to get her out." Rick looks out and sees more lights heading their way.

"That might be a problem," he states. She shakes her head and lays the girls head on her shoulder.

"Sweetie, go to sleep. We'll get out of this, don't worry. Just lay your head down and let the pain go away." The girl did as she was told and closes her eyes, and sleep overtakes her a second later. Jill looks at Rick and goes to the door. "We don't have another choice. Run." They burst out of the room and see at least a few guards there, but take for to the stairs. They spot them and begin to take off. They needed to get her out of there.

* * *

Annie and Daryl had made their way up the stairs to the top without a problem, which had confused the hell out of them. They had heard a little girl scream, so maybe that was where the guards had gone, but they hadn't run into one. She didn't know where the hell they all were. But whoever was keeping them occupied she thanked God above-or whatever was there-that they weren't on them.

"Where the hell are they?" Daryl asks as they walked slowly through a deserted hallway. Annie had noticed that it had used to be a hospital, but it was also quite creepy just looking the way it did. It was all messed up, and she could see blood on the walls in some of the areas. She shrugs.

"I don't know. But all I know is that we're on the top floor. And there hasn't been one sign of him. And now i'm getting really sceeved out because I heard a little girl screaming before, and I don't even know if that was Kelly or Hallie and-"

"Annie, panicking is not helping our situation. Ya need to calm down," Daryl turns to her, stopping her in her tracks. She stares at him, knowing he meant what he said, and nods, taking a deep breath.

"Calm down. Got it," she repeats. That's when they hear a voice emerge from a room, along with two other people laughing.

"Better listen to your husband, Annie. Wouldn't want ya to get hurt," the voice says. Both their heads snap up and eyes narrow as they see Joel and two of his men step out into the hallway, facing opposite of them. "Good to see you again, Annie."

"Joel," she snarls, pointing her gun at him and Daryl his crossbow. But Joel simply laughs and his men point their weapons up at them.

"Now, now, let's not point our weapons just yet-"

"Where are the girls?" Daryl growls at him.

"They're safe-"

"Bullshit," Annie snarls at him. "You took them. I know you did. Where the hell are they?" Joel places his hands up.

"If you would let me talk, then i'll explain, missy," he says. She shuts her mouth and nods her head to go on. He smiles. "Thank you. Now, your girls are locked away. And the reason why I took them anyway was to lure you and Daryl here. Now, I still have a death to avenge, and Walt was a good friend of mine. And all those guards you killed, so were they. So how about we just get the dirty part over with and kill you both. Just get the shot done." Daryl snorts.

"Yeah, thats gonna happen." Joel turns to him.

"Really? Eh, I was expecting that. Now we'll have more fun," he replies, taking one of the mens assault rifles. "And now you're daughters will be used as pets if you don't surrender now. So I suggest you back down and make this easy." Annie glares at him and places her finger on the trigger.

"Fat chance." She pulls it and lets the bullet fly into the shoulders of one of the men, but he barely flinches as it grazes his shoulders and the men now shoot. She and Daryl step to the sides and hide behind old carts that laid there. She and Daryl exchange a glance and both nod, heading off in opposite directions. If they were going to take them out, they had to do it quietly and stealthily.

She jumps into an abandoned room next to her and hides behind the wall, hearing one of the guards pass overhead with this gun raised. She hears Joel talk as she moves away quietly.

"Should have just stayed still, Annie! Know what happened to Kelly? Yeah, I beat her ass to the ground. Left her there bleeding to death. Probably dead now. Hurt your little girl too. Gonna beat her next. Those girls? They were supposed to be dinner back at the farm. Look what happens now. They still gonna end up being that. No matter how hard you try." Annie feels her heart speed up. No. Kelly was not dead. Kelly would not be dead. She closes her eyes to prevent herself from giving out her hiding place, then sneaks out and goes to the next room, narrowly avoiding the eyesight of one of the guards.

"Heard ya came with a few people. Had to admit, wasn't expecting that. But I heard it was one of your friends. Jill? She's being taken care of by Blake. Nice man, he is. Gonna be part of are pets now. Gonna be nice and fun." Now Jill was brought into the picture. Annie sees the shadow of one of the guards and pops out from the window, and then takes him by the neck and strangles him. The man struggles against her hard grip, but eventually falls still and she drops him to the ground. One down, two to go.

She hears someone let out a choke of a scream, and then a crash. She smiles. Makes that two down, one to go.

The talking stops and she looks around her. Where the heck was he?

She stands up slightly and finds herself in her own chokehold, his hands on her neck and arms surrounding her body. She lets out a strangled cry but it was way to quiet. She tries to step away, tries to pull out her knife, tries to grab her pistol that was on the floor, buts eh felt the air leaving her body, and she felt her head getting lighter and lighter. And then she realized it was practically useless. He had her, and this would be the end.

Or so she thought.

The man is ripped off of her and taken to the wall, and she falls to the ground, trying to gasp for air. She feels the wall vibrate under her body and she leans up to look through the window. Daryl had legit grabbed him through the window of one of the rooms, pulled him through, and banged his head against the wall. Several times. Annie leans up and stops him in one of his throws. "He's gone," she states quietly, noticing the blood on the wall. He pulls back and she sees that he was breathing heavily. She takes his hand in hers and pulls him through the window to get him out, and he places a hand on her shoulder.

"Are ya ok?" he asks quickly. She nods and opens her mouth to reply, but is stopped by one noise.

"HELP!"

They both knew who that was. They run towards where they heard the scream and find a locked room. But the door was unstable because with one kick, Daryl had it down and he looks into the room. And once both see what was in there, both their hearts drop.

Hallie looks at them wide eyed.

"Kelly...mommy and daddy are here. I told you they would come..." she cries to her sister. Both run over to them and pick up one of each, Annie in Hallie's arms and Kelly in Daryl's. Kelly' head rests on his shoulder, barely awake...or worse. Annie looks at Kelly in horror.

"Jesus, what did they do to her?" she whispers, holding Hallie close to her chest. Daryl stares at Kelly with scared and worried eyes and then shakes his head.

"I don't know, but if we don't get her back to the safe zone soon..." Annie nods fearfully and looks at Hallie, who was crying into Annie's shoulder.

"Jesus," she mumbles. "We need to go." She runs out of the room, Daryl hot on her heals. A few guards come up and point their weapons, but she simply shoots them in the head with her pistol in her free hand. Looking down at Hallie again, she sees that she had some bruises inflicted on her and some cuts as well, but it was nothing compared to Kelly.

They make it down the stairs a lot quicker then they thought they would, and only run into Rick and Jill, who were going their way. Annie looks up at Jill who was carrying a small girl in her arms. "Who's she?" she asks. Jill shakes her head.

"She...she-" She stops and shakes her head. There was no explaining. "Blake." She looks at the girl in Daryl's arms and gasps. "Is that...i'm so sorry."

"She ain't dead!" Daryl snaps at her. Annie looks at the beat up and bloody Kelly. To be honest, she didn't know if she was or not. She didn't even look alive at all. Annie was about to reply when they hear a honk from the back and see more lights coming in here. And also hear screaming from upstairs.

"What the hell?" Rick yells over the sound. He looks out one of the windows and he lets out a ghost of a laugh.

"What?" Jill asks nervously.

"Nickson got a car." Annie's brow furrows.

"Nickson got a car?"

"Nickson got a car!" he states again. They hear him shout.

"GET IN THE FUCKING CAR! THEY'RE ARE GUARDS ON THE WAY!" So those were the lights.

Without another thought, the group takes off to the back just as the door opens. Shots rang out, but they all make it to the back and see the car in the distance. Annie runs with Hallie, who was still crying into Annie's shoulder. Annie looks over at at the small girl in Jill's arms, who was almost just as hurt as Kelly, but was asleep. Jill must have saved her from Blake. But one sound she heard, even through the gunshots and through the crunching of leaves on the ground, she heard one sound.

"...hurts...daddy," Kelly mumbles through her state to Daryl. Daryl feels a huge weight lift off his shoulders when he hears her voice, as does Annie. He pulls her closer and places a short kiss on top of her bloody head, but he didn't care.

"I know, baby. But ya gotta stay up. Ya gotta keep those pretty little eyes open, ok? We'll be back at the zone soon, and then ya can rest. But ya gotta stay awake." Very numbly, she nods, but it was barely anything. The pain was fighting her body like a lion in a cage.

"Come on," Annie whimpers when she hears the guards running after them. They make it to the car-or more or less van-and jump it, opening up the door and shutting it behind. "HIT IT!" she screams at Nickson, and he takes off, the car now speeding around the area to get to the gates. She looks out and sees the guards shooting at the van. "DUCK!" she yells throughout the vehicle, and everyone does so as bullets break through the glass and send it shattering onto them. They all cover the children's bodies as it lands in the car, and Annie feels some enter her back, but she doesn't flinch.

She stays down until she hears Nickson says they were out of the camp and leans back up. She feels Hallie go limp and she fears for the first but feels her breath. She had just fallen asleep. Annie looks at Kelly. "Is she still awake?" she asks quietly. If she passed out, she could go into a coma-or worse. Daryl nods sharply.

"Barely," he replies quietly, holding the small girl in his arms lovingly. Annie looks at Jill and Rick, and both seemed to be tired as hell, and both were picking out some glass from the seat and one on Jill's skin. Annie reaches into her back and pulls out a piece from her skin, all bloody. She looks at the side view mirror and makes eye contact with Nickson, and he nods. The car speeds up. They needed to get back. And soon.

* * *

**Wow, that was really hard to write :'(**

**Review? :)**


	35. Hope

I know. I have a sick mind. That last chapter XD But don't worry. I needed to get those scenes out of my system. I'm not promising it's going to be safe at all, but be warned that I write shit like that lol. lost a few readers because of it lol XD But now lets get on with the story! Gonna be a bit shorter because last chapter was my longest one ever XD

* * *

**My head's underwater**  
**But I'm breathing fine**  
**You're crazy and I'm out of my mind**

**'Cause all of me**  
**Loves all of you**  
**Love your curves and all your edges**  
**All your perfect imperfections**  
**Give your all to me**  
**I'll give my all to you**  
**You're my end and my beginning**  
**Even when I lose I'm winning**  
**Cause I give you all of me**  
**And you give me all of you, oh**

**_-All of Me (John Legend)_**

* * *

As soon as the zone came in sight, Annie's heart beat picked up, if that was possible. She was already running on adrenaline at this point. When the people at the gate saw the unrecognized car, they immediately pointed their guns up. But when Nickson opened the window-or rather stuck his head out of it-and screamed "OPEN THE FUCKING GATE" they immediately dropped their weapons and pulled it open. The van drives into the area as quick as it could and stops short, but no one cares as everyone jumps out of the car. The first person by Annie's side when she stepped out was Rachel. Her eyes were wide.

"What the fuck happened there?" she asks, looking at Hallie in her arms. When she sees everyone else step out of the car, her hands go to her mouth as she takes in the sight. All of them were covered in blood, some cuts still bleeding. Of course Annie had Hallie in her arms, who was passed out, but she noticed the bruises and cuts on her. But once she saw Kelly in Daryl's arms and a different girl who was in Jill's arms, she felt like she was going to throw up. "Is she-"

"She's awake, right?" she asks Daryl. He nods.

"Still here, right sweetie?" he says softly to the girl. She gives a weak nod, and Rachel shakes her head.

"Who the hell-"

"It doesn't matter!" Jill snaps, walking over to the infirmary with the little girl in her arms, still fast asleep. "Explaining will be done later! We need to help the kids first!" Rachel begins to protest but Annie just pushes her-with her free hand-towards the place.

"She's gonna pop a molly if you don't go there. And I'll fucking snap your neck if you don't." Rachel raises her hands up and walks into the infirmary with Annie and Daryl hot on her heels. Annie readjusts Hallie in her arms, but doing so causes her to wake up. She moves her body a bit but cringes at the pain she felt. Annie holds her tighter. "Don't worry honey, we'll get you patched up soon," she says to her. Even through her pain, Hallie shakes her head.

"Take care of Kelly first," she mumbles to her. "She needs it more." Annie feels her heart drop. Even if she was hurt she wanted Kelly to be taken care of first.

"She'll get it too," she replies. She sees Jill lay the small girl down on one of the cots and Annie follows by laying Hallie down across from her. Rachel turns to Kelly and cringes a bit. She looks at Daryl at gestures towards the room across, and then places her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"She needs more then just patching up, Daryl. She can't be in here with the other kids," she says softly. Both are silent before he gives a sharp nod and goes into the next room. Annie sees Barbie come in a moment later with her gun, and she gets a good look at the kids. She whistles.

"Jesus, what happened to them?" she asks. Annie simply shakes her head.

"Ba...Nicky can you just stay in here for a minute?" she asks, making sure to use her actual name. She looks shocked at her asking, but nods anyway and takes a chair, plopping down into it. Annie offers her a sad smile. "Thanks," she replies, walking out of the room into the other. When she walks in, she automatically gets a chill up her spine. It wasn't as...nice feeling the other room gave off. Maybe it was just that Kelly was laying there on the bed but it didn't make her feel any better.

Rachel and Daryl were talking discreetly near the door, and she honestly didn't want to hear what was going to go on until she got another look at Kelly. She walks over and leans down to her. Her chest went steadily up and down, very slow. Annie sighs sadly at the little girl's body, and apparently Kelly heard. She weakly turns her head and smiles at her, though it sort of looked like more of a grimace then anything else. She was still awake, even through all the pain.

"Hi mommy," she whispers. Annie smiles at her and reaches out, taking a hold of her small hand in hers.

"Hey, sweetie," she replies. "You're still awake."

"Daddy told me to stay awake so I did." Annie chuckles at this.

"I'm proud of you," she says, squeezing her hand. "Does anything feel better?" Kelly manages a painful shrug. "Baby, don't do that," she counters, placing her hand on her bumpy shoulder.

"It still hurts. A lot. I wanna go to sleep, but I can't. I need to stay up." Annie brushes a stray piece of hair from her eyes that was pasted onto her head. It was still caked in blood. She was getting the bath of a lifetime sooner or later.

"You're such a fighter," she admits to her. "Always facing the pain. You and your sister." Placing it behind her ears, she smiles again. "You know, I've never heard you call me mommy until now," she says to her. Kelly looks down at Annie's hand in hers.

"I...wanted to...call you that...before I can't." Annie's grip on her hand tightens.

"Don't go saying crap like that. You'll be fine, Kelly. Everything will be alright," she insists. "And soon you and Hallie will be playing together again. May even have a new friend in that little girl we have." She felt tears at the edge of her eyes again, but she wipes them away. "Everything will be fine."

"Annie," she hears Rachel call softly to her. She lets her head drop to the ground and a sigh escapes her lips. Squeezing Kelly's hand one last time, she stands up and walks over to her and Daryl, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah?" she asks quietly.

"Look, right now, I honestly don't know the impact of these injuries. But from the looks of it, they aren't good. Beth and I will do everything, and we have the supplies, but I...I can't guarantee anything. But I'll try everything I can." Annie stares down at the ground but nods. "You're still bleeding. Don't worry about those kids. I saw some others go in to take care of them. You guys clean up in the back room. Out of everyone who came back you need to most cleaning." Both nod and go out into the hallway, and Jill immediately comes up to Annie.

"Is she ok? What has to happen-"

"Jill, give me a minute!" she snaps. Instead of being shocked at her tone, Jill nods and steps back into the opposite room. She knew Annie would be like this. Annie turns to Daryl and nods towards the back. "I'll meet you back there, okay?" she says softly. He nods without another word and heads back, and she sighs again, leaning against the wall. Jill comes out a minute later.

"Need to talk about it?" she asks. Annie glares at her stupidly, but shakes her head sadly.

"She said she doesn't know if she'll make it through," she states with a monotone voice. "She doesn't fucking know. How am I going to live on with all this on my brain? This is going to kill me from the inside, Jill." Jill comes over and places an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to her.

"Well, there's nothing you can do right now. All you can do is hope. But I've know Rachel longer then you have, and with her, I think she'll be able to pull this through. She's quite the doctor." Annie smiles and looks down at the ground again. Se had taken an interest in that lately.

"I hope," she says quietly. "What's going on in there?" Jill shrugs.

"Well, Hallie passed out, but right now we have some people taking care of her wounds, and that little girl is still fast asleep. But she's being taken care of." Annie nods sharply.

"Did you take care of Blake?" she asks. Jill shrugs again.

"I didn't. Rick did. Fucking slammed his head into the wall."

"Did the same thing to Joel," she says. "But I don't think this is the end of this." Jill's brow furrows.

"What do you mean?" she asks. Annie looks back into the room at the two hurt children and sighs.

"I don't think Daryl killed Joel. I honestly have a bad feeling he's still around. And that we're going to get attacked here. Sooner or later, all of this...I don't know, it's all going to go to shit now. Something bad is going to happen." Jill bites her lip.

"Then we'll be prepared." Annie snorts.

"You said that last time," she retorts. "Look what happened to that brilliant plan."

"If anything like that does happen, we fight until the end. And if this place is taken, then we'll stick together and get out. We're not going to let anything like that happen to the kids again. Only Joel and Blake know where Aasim is. Blake is dead. I know that. Joel, at least right now, can't do anything. The guards don't know shit. We have time." She takes her arm away from her shoulders and her eyes widen when she sees blood on her skin. "Annie, go and get cleaned up. You still have some glass in you." She nods.

"Stay in there for a while, ok? Tell Barbie she can go." Jill smirks at the nickname but nods, going into the room. Annie takes one final look at the room Kelly was in and then makes her way down the hall.

* * *

When Annie makes it to the door, she opens it slowly and steps inside. Then, closing it softly behind her, she turns to where she saw a shadow cascade over the floor of the slightly large room. Daryl was sitting on the window seat, staring out into the dark night. Se walks over to the shelves and picks up whatever she could use to fix up the wounds on her. Bandages, some peroxide. She even picked up a stitching set just in case some of them needed that sort of attention.

"Rachel told you everything?" she asks quietly, walking over and sitting across from him on the seat. He hums a yes, and she can only take that as an answer for now. She knew he had a lot of stuff on his mind. She takes out a clothe and pours some peroxide on it, then takes one of his arms in her hands where one of the wounds were. She pulls out a piece of glass, but he doesn't flinch at all. She places the clothe on the wound and begins to wipe off anything. "Are you okay?" she asks. Stupid question, she knew. But she could never stand silence.

"I don't know, Annie," he mumbles, finally taking his eyes off the window and letting his head hang. "I don't know." She wraps a bandage around is arm and moves to a cut on his face.

"I need to see your face, baby," she murmurs to him. He reluctantly brings his head back up and she sees that his eyes were slightly red and puffy, but she said nothing and started to wipe at one of the cuts. "Jill thinks Rachel can fix her."

"Jill ain't always right," he states sadly. Annie takes away her clothe and pours a bit of water from a bottle near her.

"This might sting a little," she says, and she places it on his cut. He flinches slightly but lets her work. "Rachel was a doctor before all of this. I think she can do it," she says, trying to put a little bit of hope in the air.

"She looked dead, Annie," he replies. "She looked like she was about to die." Annie moves her hand down and grabs a bandage, moving to his shoulder.

"But she's not. She's still breathing, and Rachel is working on her right now. So is Beth." He suddenly turns is head away and gets up from his seat, knocking over a shelf next to them in the process. "Daryl!"

"Ya don't get it Annie!" he snaps at her. Instead of fighting back, she sits back and lets him have his do. "I could have stopped this! Back at that god damn farm that asshole had a fucking ax, and I could have just fucking ended his life right there. But my fucking mind said to let 'im go and to get to ya. I could have all stopped this. I could have fucking prevented all of this shit! Kelly, Hallie...even that fucking little girl...all their injuries is because I didn't fucking end his life right there!"

Further letting out his rage, he punches the wall right next to him, creating a huge hole. She raises an eyebrow at the hole but looks back at him, then at his hand. It was now bleeding. She rolls her eyes.

"Well, now look what you did, you dummy," she mumbles, taking his arm and pulling him back down to the seat. He sits down with ease. She pulls him closer and takes his hand in hers, then begins to dab the clothe on his fingers. "You want to know why you didn't kill him? Because at the time, we didn't know what he was capable of. We thought he was just an accomplice in all this shit, harmless. But turns out we were very wrong."

She takes a bandage and wraps it around his hand.

"And what happened to Kelly and Hallie was not your fault either. They snuck in while we were sleeping. There was nothing we could do about it." She moves to his shoulder again and begins to wrap it in a bandage. She looks at him when she finishes up and tilts his head up, making sure that she had complete eye contact. "You always think the worst of you just because this stuff happens. Truth is, we can't avoid it in this world. Kelly and Hallie? They can't have a normal life. They never can. Even if for some miracle all these fuckers died out, they would still never have a normal life. They have to deal with it. And this is just part of it." He stares at her, letting her words sink in.

"Yer takin' this well," he says softly. She smiles and shakes her head.

"I'm not. I know Kelly could die. I know she can. I know that they'll be back, but I just keep thinking of one thing, and that one thing is keeping me going, and not completely losing my mind." He raises an eyebrow.

"And what is that?" She smiles wider.

"The day we get to nuke their asses," she states, and that gets a snicker out of him.

"I'm pretty sure that we can't do that," he counters, and she shrugs.

"Oh well." She leans in and places a kiss on his lips, nice and sweet. When she pulls back, she smiles. "She'll be fine. I know she will. Have a feeling."

He stares at her for a second before nodding. He takes his hand back from hers and gestures to turn around. She raises an eyebrow questionably.

"Ya still got cuts on your back," he says softly, and she nods and turns around. He takes the clothe and places his hands at the hem of her shirt. "Gotta take off the shirt." She shrugs.

"Not like you haven't seen anything," she teases, and he actually smiles a bit at that remark. He pulls it up over her head and takes the clothe again, placing it on a gas that was right under her shoulder blade. She flinches a bit.

"Sorry," he mumbles, now taking the bandage. He wraps it around her and secures it tightly. "That looked like the only serious one here. Fucking glass still cut some areas. They ain't bleeding anymore though." She nods and decides to slump against him at that moment.

"I'm tired," she finally says. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her closer to him.

"I think all of us are," he replies. She nods, but still keeps her head on his chest. She feels his fingers trace the skin that ran up her spine and she smiles. She leans up and pecks his lips again.

"I love you," she quietly says when she pulls back. "Don't ever forget that." He offers her a crooked smile.

"Love ya, too." She looks down and grabs her shirt.

"We should see Hallie. See if she's up."

* * *

When they get back to the main room, Annie is surprised to see that Hallie was up and looking at the little girl sleeping across from her. She wasn't expecting her to be awake, only walks over and sits on the bed, causing Hallie to look up. She smiles.

"Hi," she whispers. "The little girl is sleeping," she adds on. Annie smiles.

"I know. How you feeling, Hallie?" she asks. Hallie looks down at the bandages that cover her and then back at Annie.

"It still hurts, but I feel a little better." Annie nods, but Daryl shakes his head at this.

"Ya are one tough kid, Hallie," he states. She smiles.

"I am, but Kelly's tougher." She looks around the room. Her brow furrows. "Where is she?" Annie bites her lip. How would she tell her this?

"Kelly needs a bit more then...bandages, sweetie." Even if she was young, the little girl seemed to understand this and looks down at her bed, fingering the sheets with her small fingers.

"Oh," she says quietly. "Well," she starts, looking back up at the two. "I think she'll be fine. Even if she can be annoying she'll kick butt." Annie feels a smile cross her face while Daryl laughs at the little girls use of words. Annie holds her close to her while she giggles.

"I hope, Hallie. I really do." Her little ray of hope.

* * *

**Review? :)**


	36. Alive and Breathing

Thanks for all the new reviews :) School starts up again soon lol sucks. On with the story!

* * *

**I took my love and I took it down**

**I climbed a mountain and I turned around**  
**And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills**  
**When the landslide brought me down**

**Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?**  
**Can the child within my heart rise above?**  
**Can I sail through the changing ocean and tides?**  
**Can I handle the seasons of my life?**

**Well, I've been afraid of changin'**  
**'Cause I've built my life around you**  
**But time makes you bolder, children get older**  
**And I'm getting older too, well **

_**Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)**_

* * *

Sleep didn't come easily for Annie. In fact, it barely came at all. Neither Annie nor Daryl had gone back to their house. Both had taken a liking to the couch that was close to Hallie, but also directly opposite the room that Hallie and Beth were working in. Annie could hear tools moving in there, and some talking, but she mostly tuned it out half the time. She didn't want to hear any of that. She didn't want to hear them working on Kelly. It pained her heart too much.

She looks at a clock hanging over the window and sees that it was around three am. Hallie had passed out long ago, and was now happily sleeping, her chest rising and falling slowly. Her eyes travel over to the strange little girl across from Hallie in another bed, and she takes in her appearance. She had platinum blonde hair, and porcelain skin, even if most of it was still covered in dried up or washed away blood. She looked like she was maybe two or three, but she still looked young.

Annie felt her blood boil looking at the little girl. Who would just innocently hurt a little girl like that? What the fuck did she ever do? Jill had told her that she had been in the same room Blake and another guy was in. She had been tied to a chair, and Annie could only assume that they had beat her to a pulp. Did they honestly just beat kids for fun? What the hell was up with these people?

But realizing what she was thinking, she shakes her head. This was Joel's group she was fucking talking about! They ATE people! They were probably going to cook her up for dinner if Jill and Rick hadn't gotten her out of there.

She realizes she still didn't know the little girl's name. She had been passed out since the zone. But Annie knew she wasn't dead, as her chest was rising just like Hallie's was. And falling, just like her's was. Looking at the little girl a bit closer, she sees that she sort of reminded her of that little girl from the movie 'Poltergeist.' A little girl with blonde hair. Just no bangs. And no evil spirits to haunt them.

Looking down, she sees Daryl's arms loosely wrapped around her. She slowly pushes them away so she could get up. When she frees herself she walks over to Hallie's bedside and sits in a chair next to her. She watches her chest rise and fall slowly. She looks at all the bandages on her arms and a few on her face. There was one around her thigh. One where Joel had stabbed her. But she still survived. Her little four year old had survived a stabbing with a knife to the leg. Not that she wasn't happy, but Jesus that should not be in the same sentence.

She places her hand on her forehead and brushes away a bit of her brown hair away from her face. Annie sighs when she sees the bruises on her face. She would kill Joel if they found him. If he was still alive. She liked to think deep down that he wasn't, but she knew somewhere, somehow, even after being slammed into a wall, he was alive. And he was planning. And he was waiting. And that sort of scared the crap out of Annie.

She gets up from her chair and walks out of the room, then down the hall, ignoring the light coming from under the door that Kelly was in. She heard talking, and she heard tools, but she keeps walking, ignoring the sounds that she didn't want to hear. She moves up the small set of stairs that rarely anyone used, making sure to stay quiet. She knew there was some sort of electricity upstairs. She could harvest a bit of that and pop in a movie or two. Just to stay up. She knew she wasn't getting to sleep anytime soon anyway.

There was a room near the end of a hallway up there, and the door was slightly open. She walks down to it and places her hand on the knob, then gingerly opens the door, hearing it's creepy _crreaak_ when she opened. It looked like the room had once been a nursery, or some sort of classroom. Either way, there was still a TV. She walks over and clicks it on, and there is just a black screen at first. Then slowly, something starts up. It looked like an old animation movie, probably from the early 2000's. And that's when she realized it was Finding Nemo.

She had always loved that movie. Had a strange sort of connection with it, she guessed. But she felt her butt sit down on the carpet in front of her and found her face planted to the TV as the movie started all the way from the beginning.

It wasn't until midway did she hear someone behind her.

"Couldn't sleep?" she spares a glance behind her to see Daryl leaning against the doorway. She shrugs her shoulders and turns back to the TV, her hands still in her lap.

"I'm surprised you could," she states quietly. "Fucking tools in the operating room kept me up." She feels him sit down next to her and she turns to him. "What woke you up?"

"The fact ya weren't there, and also tha' Hallie started to whimper a bit on her sleep." Her eyes widen.

"What? Is she ok?"

"She was having a nightmare. All kids have 'em. Obviously it was about the hospital. Don't blame 'er, though. Even that place gave me a bad feeling. Reminded me of some horror movie or something. All that screamin' and shit. " She raises an eyebrow.

"Asylum?" she comments, and a look of realization comes over his face.

"That's it," he replies. She snorts.

"That was a terrible movie," she states, looking back to the TV.

"Wasn't that bad," he replies. She raises an eyebrow at him again, then shakes her head.

"You don't know good horror movies. A good fucking horror movie is Poltergeist. Have you ever heard of that?" He gives her a look that says 'of course i have, dumbass.' She laughs. "I'm gonna guess that's a yes. You know who that little girl looks like? Carol-Ann. She looks EXACTLY like her." He thinks back to the little girl downstairs and does see the resemblance. He nods.

"Yeah, she does. Wonder if she sees spirits. Maybe this place is built over a graveyard." She shudders at the thought.

"Please don't say shit like that. I hated that movie when I was younger. God, it scared the shit out of me." He snorts.

"It's not as bad as some of the other horror movies. What about Texas Chainsaw Massacre." She makes a disgusted face at this.

"I hate that movie so much."

"But that's a classic!"

"I don't care! Way too much blood for my liking." He rolls his eyes.

"So ya can survive a fucking apocalypse where the dead walk and in order to survive ya have to stab 'em in the head, but ya can't wach a guy in a mask cut open people?" She nods.

"Too much blood, Daryl. Though I do like Jaws." He raises his hands in the air.

"Then how come ya don't like the other one?" She smirks.

"Simple. Steven Spielberg directed Jaws. That makes it better. Almost any Steven Spielberg movie is amazing." He sighs frustrated.

"So ya base a good horror movie on it's director? What sort of crap is that? How about if it scares ya?" She looks back at him with a smile.

"If it has a good director then it should scare me. If it doesn't then boo hoo. Why do you think I like Poltergeist? Steven produced it. He makes every movie good. Except for one I won't mention," she ends, her face contorting into a disgusted look again. He raises an eyebrow.

"What's that?" She laughs and places her head in her hands.

"Arachnophobia. I HATE spiders. I couldn't stay in my seat when I watched that. And I was young when that came out." She turns her head back to the TV and then laughs at herself. "This reminds me of our first night together. Back when we watched Insidious." He hums at the memory.

"Yeah, and that stupid game." She rolls her eyes.

"It was not stupid." He raises another eyebrow at her. She smiles. "Ok, maybe it was. But I was bored. And I was drunk. So don't go pestering me on this." She looks back at the TV. "Come a long way since then. Never thought I'd be here. Waiting patiently for the news about my child if she's dead or not." She puts her head in her hands. "Sweet Jesus, someone help my sanity."

She feels his arms go around her and pull her closer to him. "Ya said yourself ya think she'll be ok." Annie sighs and looks up at him.

"I still have doubt Daryl. I always think the worst in things. I'm just trying to stay positive on this. But every single time I hear a tool in that damn operation room, I feel my heart speed up, and my optimistic side diminish more and more. Just looking at Hallie makes me sick. How am I going to look at Kelly after all this? Jesus."

She feels tears ready to spill over again, but she blinks them away.

"I wish I could sleep," she ends pathetically. "I wish I could just sleep all my troubles away. Wouldn't that be nice?" He lets a ghost of a laugh.

"Yeah, It would be. But it ain't. Just gotta keep going," he replies. She sighs and snuggles a bit deeper into his chest. He was right. It wouldn't just go away. She had to face it head on. And that was what she intended to do.

* * *

Sooner or later the sun had risen, and Finding Nemo had ended, and Daryl and Annie had made their way back down to the room. As they walked into the room, Annie felt her stomach growl. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had any real food since they left the day before. Only water. She bites her lip but ignores the gnawing pain in her stomach. But apparently Daryl heard.

"Hungry?" he asks. She shrugs her shoulders.

"I guess," she replies, but her stomach betrays her by growling again. She glares down at it. "Ok, fine I am. But I don't want to leave Hallie alone." At that moment, Jill walks in with a few baskets of supplies in her hands, slightly tipping over. Seeing that she was struggling, Annie runs over and takes a basket from her hands, as does Daryl. The baskets were heavy. Jill smiles at her.

"Thanks," she says gratefully, but Annie was having trouble keeping a good grip on the basket.

"What the fuck is in this?" she asks. Jill smiles and brings the baskets into the room Hallie was in. She lays them on one of the tables and turns to Annie, her smile still in place.

"A group this morning went out to the hospital to get some other stuff for helping the kids. Also just to store up the shelves because they knew a lot of our supplies would be gone because of Kelly. Seems like a lot of the people here care about them." Annie smiles, but then her stomach growls yet again. "Hungry? You guys need a break. Come on, I'll stay here with the kids and you guys go get something to eat." Annie gives her a confused look.

"Jill, you don't need to-" She had already pushed her out the door.

"Get to the main hall and get something! You're starting to look like a skeleton!" she whispers fiercely to her, and Annie smiles. She knew she was trying not to wake up the kids. Annie places her arms around her in a tight hug.

"Thanks, Jill," she replies. Jill wraps her arms around her and sighs.

"Just go eat, Annie," she replies. Annie smiles and lets go, then grabs Daryl's hand and pulled him towards the main hall. Jill had been there earlier. They would like what they had. Some good old pancakes and eggs. If they were lucky they might be able to get some bacon, but it was going away quite quickly.

Sighing, she walks back into the room and walks over to the table, pulling out the supplies slowly, one by one, while her mind travels to Annie the whole entire time.

Just looking at her made her sad. Her eyes had been bloodshot, probably from not sleeping at all. And she looked so skinny. Ever since she had found Annie, Jill had been having these sort of flashbacks, back to the orphanage. She remembered all the little girls who used to tease them, and the hours they would spend talking, sneaking out to go see a show. They would eat, sometimes sleep together. Not like that, but in the same bed. When there would be yelling, or thunder, or they were just plain scared, they would be there for each other. Even now, even if it wasn't as extreme as sleeping in the same bed, she was still there for her. She always would be.

And now she had someone. Jill knew they loved each other. Jill knew that he would be there for her. She had to admit, when they were younger, Daryl wasn't the kind of guy that she pictured Jill with. She pictured her with a guy that was sort of like Justin Timberlake esque. Someone who had style and class. Annie deserved someone like that after all that she had been through. But no, she ended up with Daryl. Now, even Jill had to admit that the man was good looking. Just quite short of class, and didn't have anything that was stylish. But Annie was happy, and that's all that mattered to her.

But even so, Jill still found herself jealous of Annie. She had a husband who loved her, kids who aren't even hers who were devoted to her, and was still kicking today. Jill had Ariel, and she loved her more then life, and she loved Jill, but after Blake and everything, she felt like she could never really trust a guy again. She did have sort of a crush on Rick, but she doubted anything would be taken far with that. She liked him a lot, but her main priority was Ariel and this new little girl.

Speaking of the little girl, Jill heard a small yawn come from across the room and she looks up from her supplies. The little girl's arms spread out in a stretch and her mouth opened as she took in a breath of fresh air. She places her hands down and looks around the new location. Her eyes look at Hallie passed out and then they travel to Jill.

Jill places one of the medicine bottles down and walks over to the now awake little girl. She kneels down to the ground and offers her a small smile. "Hi, sweetie. How you feeling?" she asks. The little girl looks down at the blankets, her shyness taking over.

"My head hurts," she mumbles after a moment. Jill moves her blonde hair out of the way and examines her head. There was a large bump forming. Her brow furrows.

"How the heck did that happen?" she chuckles. "Must have bumped your head against the headboard. Wait a second." She gets up from her spot and goes over to the supplies table. She grabs a clothe and places it under the sink next to her, spreading cool water on it. Walking back over, she leans down again and places it gently against her head. "Hold that there and the swelling will go down, honey." The girl follows what she was told and places her small hand against the towel, holding it to her head.

"Where am I?" she asks. Jill leans up and sits on the edge of the bed.

"In an infirmary. We're fixing you up. Got hurt a lot back at that old building." The little girl looks at her scared.

"Are you going to hurt me too?" she asks fearfully. Jill smiles.

"No we're not," she chuckles. "The people here are nice people. They would never hurt people like you. You're too adorable to be cute," she says ruffling the little girls hair. She giggles. "What happened to your parents?" She looks down at the sheets.

"I don't have a mommy anymore," she says sadly. "I never had a daddy. But I did have a mommy. Mommy was part of Joel's group, and she made him mad. And he hurt her. And she was gone. And then he hurt me. He left me with B..Bl..Black?" she asks. Jill grimaces.

"Blake," she answers. The little girl nods.

"They hurt me. A lot. I don't want to go back there," she whimpers. Jill looks at her and places her hand on her shoulder.

"You're never going back there sweetie. Nothing bad like that is going to happen again. You're safe here" The little girl nods and looks out the window. Everyone was getting up. "How old are you?" The girl looks back at her.

"Uh..three? Yeah, three." Jill smiles. Another little one to take care of.

"What's your name?" The little girl smiles.

"Ellie," she states happily. Jill's smile widens even more. She takes the clothe off of her head and looks at the bump. It had gotten smaller.

"Looking better," she states. "Well, Ellie. How about you go meet some of the other kids?" She smiles and nods. Jill takes her hand and helps her off the bed. "Good. Let's get you some air."

* * *

When Annie and Daryl had reached the cafeteria in the main hall, many looks of pity and sorry were sent their way, but both literally just ignored them and sat down at one of the tables. Without a word, Daryl got up and went over to the kitchen to get them some food, while Annie stayed back at the table, chewing the skin under her fingernails.

Biting her fingers had been a habit since she was young. Recently, she had grown out of it. But with all the stress that had been piling on top of her as of late, she needed to find some sort of stress reliever. Since cutting was not an option, and she didn't have the energy to do anything, this would just have to do for now.

While Daryl was getting some pancakes for Annie, he saw Rick approach him from the side. He sighed inwardly. To be honest, he didn't really want to talk to anyone right now besides Annie and Rachel, if she had any news on Kelly. But when he looked over and saw the empathy on Rick's face, he knew he wasn't getting out of it.

"How ya feeling?" he asks. Daryl had to purse his lips to keep himself from exploding. How the fuck did he think he felt?!

"Fucking peachy," he replies. Instead of cringing like Daryl thought he would, he snickers. "The fuck is so funny?"

"Nothin'. Just your response. Typical you." He nods his head towards the window that led out into the cafeteria. "How's she doing?" Daryl looks out and sees her biting the skin under her fingernails nervously.

"She's tired. Both of us are. Up at three am watching Finding Nemo." Rick snickers again.

"Finding Nemo?"

"Finding Nemo, man. Finding fucking Nemo." He grabs a water bottle from the table and grasps it in his hands. "Funny. Now I know how ya felt," he mumbles. Rick's brow furrows.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Back at the farm. When Carl was shot." He places the water bottle on the tray and turns to Rick. "The way ya and Lori were actin'. I understand that feelin' now," he replies. Rick bites his lip at this.

"Well, I get that. But to be honest, that was different. Carl was shot, not beaten half to death. And that had been an accident. This was on purpose." He looks out at Annie and sees Carol approaching her. Time for girl talk, he guessed. "This is more stressful then before. But I know Rachel. I got a feeling that Kelly will be fine." Daryl smirks a bit.

"Annie told me Jill said the same thing," he replies, looking back at Rick. Rick looks down at this and grabs a water bottle from the table.

"Carl's actually taken the news a bit hard," he says, changing the subject. "Little girl wormed her way into his heart. Plays with him a lot. Finding out she was nearly killed? That got him good." Daryl snorts.

"I'm sure that would get anyone good."

While the two men talked in the kitchen Annie payed attention to the hard wood surface below her hands. Nothing was really capturing her attention until she saw a shadow loom over her. She looks up and sees Carol standing nervously there. Annie smiles sadly. "Hey, Carol," she says. She had to admit, Carol actually seemed true to her word about her apology to her. But she still looked scared siting down in front of her. Annie made a side note of that.

"How's Kelly?" she asks quietly. Annie shrugs sadly.

"Your guess is as good as mine," she states, clamping her fingers together. "Haven't heard from Rachel or Beth during the night. Still working on her injuries." Carol nods and looks down at the table. She purses her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but instead looks back up and offers her a comforting smile.

"I'm sorry about her. And Hallie. They didn't deserve all of this." Annie rolls her eyes, a grin on her face now.

"Please. It wasn't your fault. No need to be sorry." Carol nods, with sort of a grimace on her face. She suddenly stands and looks towards the doorway. Annie's brow furrows. "Whats wrong?"

"I gotta go," she mumbles, jogging towards the door and out of the room. Annie tilts her head but shrugs her shoulders. A minute later she sees Daryl sit down beside her. She looks up to find a confused look on his face.

"What was that about?" he asks, seeing that Carol had fled the room. Annie shrugs her shoulders again.

"No idea."

* * *

The two now had full stomachs and found their way back to the infirmary, but when Annie found Jill outside with the small little girl they had picked up, talking on the front porch, her brow furrowed. She steps up and Jill smiles at her, the little girl in her arms. "Hey. How was the food?" she asks. Annie shrugs.

"Food. Felt good to fill up my stomach. She's up I see." Jill smiles and looks at the small girl, who had now snuggled a bit closer to Jill at the new faces.

"Ellie, this is Annie and Daryl." The little girl waves shyly at them and Annie smiles.

"Hey, Ellie," she says quietly. She looks at Jill and nods towards the room. Jill rolls her eyes.

"She hasn't woken up yet. Still passed out," she comments. Annie nods and goes into the building. She was happy to finally know that little girls name. She leans over to Daryl once they were inside.

"Thank God her name isn't Carol-Ann. Right?" she asks. He snickers at that and she laughs, but both are cut off when a door opens and too people step out. Annie looks up and locks eyes.

With Rachel and Beth.

Both smile.

And Annie feels some of the weight of the world lift off her shoulders.

"She'll be fine," Rachel says to Annie, walking up and placing a hand on her shoulder. Annie smiles and places her hand over hers, squeezing it.

"Thank God. What exactly..." Rachel looks to Beth for this and she nods.

"She had some internal bleeding, but only a little, and we were able to patch that up. Few gashes here and there. Bad one on her back, but we fixed it. The only thing is that she needed plenty of blood. But thank God her and I have the same blood type. So does Rachel. Few bruises. One right below her left eye. Sprained ankle, but that'll just need to rest for a while. But with some sleep and some food, she'll be ok." Annie nods, thankful that they had been so gracious as to donate blood.

"Can we see her?" she asks. Rachel looks at her dumbly.

"Of course," she laughs.

* * *

When Annie and Daryl walked into the room, she quickly closed the door behind them so they could get a bit of privacy. When her eyes travel to Kelly, she walks over and leans next to the bed to look at her. Sure enough, she had a bruise right under her left eye, and she was covered in bandages. Her ankle was slightly swollen, but looked less bad then it did the other night. But the one thing that made her feel ok was that she saw her chest rise up and down slowly. She was breathing. She was alive.

"She had wanted to sleep so badly," she hears Daryl say. She looks up and finds him on the edge of the bed. "When I was carryin' her. She wanted to sleep so bad. I can already tell she's enjoying this." She sighs.

"From the pain. At least some of the blood is gone. But she still needs a serious bath," she chuckles. "God, I feel like the pressure has been taken off my chest," she replies, looking at Daryl. He smiles a bit, looking at her.

"Maybe now ya can get some sleep instead of watching Finding Nemo," he states. She rolls her eyes.

"You were watching it too!" she accuses.

"You were watching that without me?" a sudden small voice said. Both heads look at the little girl who had said that. Kelly was up, and she had a smile on her face. "I thought you said that you weren't supposed to swear, daddy," she states sweetly. Annie bursts out laughing at this. He comes closer and ruffles her dark brown hair.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he murmurs to her. Annie calms herself down enough to go over to Kelly and move the hair out of her eyes.

"Hey, Kelly. How are you feeling?" she asks. Kelly smiles at her.

"Better then I did last night. Rachel and Beth really helped me," she replies. "My ankle still hurts though." Annie smiles.

"All worth it to see you here breathing," she replies. Kelly looks past her and at the door.

"Where's Hallie? Is she ok?" she asks. Annie nods.

"She's sleeping right now. Healing up." Kelly nods.

"Good. She had tried to stop the bleeding of one of the gash's on my chest back at the hospital. It didn't really work, but it slowed down the bleeding. I remember. That's why I was still awake." Daryl furrows his brow. He remembered he had seen a piece of fabric wrapped around the girls waist, but never in his life did he think that little Hallie would do that.

"She did?" he asks. She nods.

"Yeah, she did. She stayed with me. And she tried. That's how a lot of blood got onto to her. She tried to stop the bleeding at some points." She looks at Daryl. "Said she wanted to be brave like you." Annie smiles at this and looks for Daryl's reaction. He actually seemed surprised by this fact.

"Really?" he asks, actually a little bit touched that Hallie wanted to be like him. No one wanted to be like him. She nods.

"Said she wanted to 'be brave just like daddy.'" She crosses her arms. "In my opinion, she was." She looks down at the bandages on her stomach. "I don't ever want to go back," she whispers.

"You're never going back there sweetie. None of us are," Annie states. "Can you remember anything?" Kelly shakes her head.

"A little, but not a lot. Some of the things Joel said to me...I can't really remember." Annie bites her lip.

"How they got in, maybe?" Kelly nods her head no.

"I can't remember. But I do remember him saying that he had help from someone." Annie nods and looks at Daryl. both exchange a look. They needed to find out who this was, and soon.

"Thank's, Kelly," she nods. "You need more rest, ok? Go to sleep honey." Kelly nods and leans down in her bed, her eyes closing. Annie leans in an places a kissin her forehead before leaving the room with Daryl behind her. When they get out, she bites her lip.

"Any clue who would help?" He shrugs.

"Don't know. But we'll figure this out. This won't go on for long."

* * *

**Review? :)**


	37. Healing the Wounds

So recently I started school back up again and now it's crunch time. I got finals in a month. I'm going to try and update every other day, but if i don't I want people to know it's because school is a bitch and I need to study and do well :) Once summer comes along, I'll have MUCH more time to write. And trust me, this story will be going on then as well. I have a feeling this story will be going on for a while. So now let's get on with this story!

* * *

**And when I couldn't sleep at night**  
**Scared things wouldn't turn out right**  
**You would hold my hand and sing to me**

**Caterpillar in the tree**  
**How you wonder who you'll be**  
**Can't go far but you can always dream**

**Wish you may and wish you might**  
**Don't you worry, hold on tight**  
**I promise you there will come a day**  
**Butterfly fly away**

_**-Butterfly Fly Away (Miley Cyrus)**_

* * *

The next few days seemed to go by in a weird sort of speed. Sometimes it would be dreadfully and painfully slow, and sometimes it would be ultra mega quick. Either way, it looked like everyone was finally getting tired. After the kids were taken, almost everyone was on high guard and there was always someone as the fence. Not that there wasn't anyone there now, but there seemed to be a surplus amount of people. Jill was always the one who would volunteer at night, but Annie had no clue why. If anyone deserved sleep, it was Jill.

Annie was starting to feel it too. Both her and Daryl. Both had been trying to figure out exactly who could have helped Blake get out, but even when they came close to something, something else would get in the way. It didn't help that she always felt tired now because of what happened to Hallie and Kelly.

Kelly had woken up a few times since the first time, but overall her body didn't have the strength to stay on for too long. She got something to drink, something to eat, and then fell right back asleep. Annie couldn't blame her. She was still a mess. And she still needed a shower. So did Hallie. But both were still too hurt to do anything of leaving the infirmary. Rachel had told Annie that soon they would be able to head back to the house, after Kelly got the right amount of blood back in her, and Hallie could easily walk again.

Annie had found out that Hallie was hurt a bit more then she thought. Her ankle had been twisted like Kelly's, but she had had internal bleeding. Rachel had taken her in the moment after Kelly was done, with Annie's approval. Now, she was stuck on bed rest until she could move her ankle again. She was making progress slowly, but Annie found herself impatiently waiting. She wanted them to get out of that place. All t did was give off a bad vibe after everything that had happened to those girls.

But sometimes Annie would find someone in there to entertain the girl. the new little girl, Ellie, had been with Hallie on a few occasions, playing with some stuffed animals that Jill had given her. Same with Ariel, only with dolls. Hallie always seemed to have someone when Annie or Daryl wasn't there. As for Kelly, well, she was asleep.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had had a few people come and go when she had been awake to talk to them. It was when she was asleep did people come. Talk about bad timing. But the few Annie had counted were just a few people. One had been Jill, and she had told her what a trooper she was. Another was Rachel, but that had been just to give some more blood. One other had been one of Kelly's little friends, Katie, who had colored with her for a while to keep her company. The last one she had seen had been a surprise to Annie.

It had been Carl.

Annie had seen Kelly play with him a few times. But she had thought that it was just Kelly wanting something to do. When she saw the two talking and laughing a few times, she had been surprised. Not badly surprised. It was just sort of a shock that a 14 year old kid was making a 7 year old smile when usually when they were hurt it took them days to get back on progress. And Annie liked that she was healing quickly. Just still needed some time to rest and get her strength back.

But right now, she wasn't in the infirmary, nor was she in her house. She wasn't even in the zone right now. Right now she was out with Jill, trying to just relax for a while. It hadn't been her idea to go out. Annie had wanted to stay in the zone and try to look a bit harder to figure out who would help Joel and group get in. Maybe that was the reason Jill had dragged her out of the zone in the first place. She was sort of stressed...ok, a lot stressed, but she still wanted to look.

But after Jills firm like grip had landed on her arm and thrown her into the passenger seat of the pick up truck they usually took out to go on runs, Annie knew she couldn't complain. when Jill wanted to do something, and she was serious about, she would do anything achieve it. And that included physical abasement to said best friends.

Annie stuck her head out the window as the wind rushed past her, sending her brown curls up into the sky. Her green eyes were tired but slightly curious as to where they were going, and Jill was humming some song from when they were younger. Annie couldn't quite place it, but she knew that sounded familiar.

"What song is that?" she asks, turning her head to look at Jill. She spares a glance at her and smiles, then looks back out to he road. Heaven knows they had survived this long. They weren't going to die of a car crash. Annie would not let that happen.

"Oh, you don't remember? Jeez, where the hell have you been?" she chuckles, shaking her head and keeping her eyes on the road. Annie glares at her and rolls her eyes.

"It's been twelve years, asshole. I don't remember shit from last week." Jill bursts out laughing at this statement, shaking her head again, her shoulders shaking.

"Come on, I know you can get it," she states. She starts to hum the song again and Annie listens closely just for shits and grins. Slowly the song starts to show up in her brain, and a smile spreads across her face as she starts to sing it while she was humming.

"Every little thing I do, never seems enough for you, you don't want to lose it again, but I'm not like them. Baby when you finally get to love somebody, guess what? It's gonna be me!" she sings as the car starts to travel up a steep hill where trees surrounded it. Jill laughs.

"I knew you would find it out," she snickers. Annie looks out the window and her brow furrows.

"Where the hell are we?" she asks, wondering where exactly they were. Jill smiles.

"Somewhere only we'll know," she states. Annie cocks her head at her but looks back out the window, waiting for the car to stop at wherever they were going. Slowly, 'It's Gonna Be Me,' starts to come out of her mouth, and she curses Jill when it does.

"Son of a bitch, now it's stuck in my head," she mutters, placing her head on the windowsill. She needed a nap. And food. A nap and food. Yeah, that sounded good to her.

Slowly, the car started to come to a stop at the top of some hill, surrounded by trees and green grass. Annie's brow furrows as Jill steps out from the other side of the car. She comes over to Annie's side and open up the door for her. Annie gives her a confused look as she steps out of the car, looking around at the place they were in.

"Where the heck are we?" she asks again. Jill closes the door and goes to the back of the truck, and then takes out a basket from behind. Jill had packed a picnic.

"I found this place a while ago when I was out with a few people. Thought it would be a nice place to relax. And you definitely need that right now." She lays down a blanket from the back and puts the basket down on it. Annie smiles at her while her brow was still furrowed.

"I feel like you're coming onto me or something like that," she chuckles. Jill rolls her eyes.

"I wasn't doing that," she starts. "I just knew that you needed to get away from all the stress and everything. I know that Kelly and Hallie are a huge deal, and trust me, we're doing everything we can right now, but the way you've been looking the last few days really started to make me wonder. So here we are, and you are going to sit down, talk, and eat the peanut butter jelly sandwiches I made."

Annie looks into the woods behind her and sees walkers in the distance. "Jill, there are walkers over there," she whispers fiercely. Jill simply shrugs.

"Then we'll take care of them. But right now, EAT," she says sternly. Annie sighs and sits down on the ground next to her, taking one of the sandwiches from her outstretched hands.

"This better be good peanut butter," she mumbles, taking a bite. Jill smiles. She knew she could convince her to relax. She needed this.

"See? How does that feel?" she teases, taking a bit of her own sandwich. Annie rolls her eyes and takes another bite. To be honest, the sandwich was good as hell. She hadn't had a good PB&J since before the turn.

"Where the hell did you get all this shit to make this crap?" she asks through a mouthful of peanut butter. Jill laughs.

"I sort of just looked when I was out. There are some things out there that haven't been taken yet, I guess. A peanut butter jar was just the first part of it." She takes another bite and swallows, then turns to Annie. "Ok, so have you found anything up again with Blake and how he got out? Who do you think helped him?" Annie shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head. She swallows what she was eating and turns to Jill with a frown.

"Nothing. And you know what sucks? Kelly remembers Joel telling her exactly who, but she doesn't know because she can't remember the person. and it frustrates me to no end that this person is still living in this god damn zone, threatening our lives, and possibly our kids. I mean, come on. Ariel could be next, Jill! You helped!" Jill places her hands up in a surrender sort of way.

"You don't think I know that? That's why I have those kids watched twenty four seven. I don't need them getting taken away from me. Especially Ariel. I don't even want that to happen again. At least to the kids. Let's think of people." She takes one more bite. "How about...Jackson? He's always so quiet at those town meetings." Annie shakes her head.

"No, I've talked to him and he says that he would never do something like that. And if he did he would kill himself. He cares about little kids more then her cares about himself." Jill snorts.

"So we have a pedophile." Annie pushes her shoulder. "Ok, ok...what about Lila? She isn't really that helpful." Annie snorts.

"That's because she's a single mother tackling five kids. How helpful could you be if you're taking care of kids ranging from the ages of six-sixteen in the zombie Apocalypse?" Jill laughs again.

"Ok, you're right about that one. I feel bad for her. Jeez, her husband left her for some other woman. That must really suck." Annie nods, knowing what that felt like.

"I know how it feels," she mumbles. Jill's brow furrows.

"Who?" she asks.

"Back in college. I didn't really date guys that often. They never seemed to want to date me. But there was this one guy. His name was Travis, and he was the only guy to ask me out on a date during college. He was sweet, called me beautiful...but one time he tried to touch me and I stopped him, and then things started to get a bit distant, but we still talked all the time. And then I found him cheating on me with this whore from a strip club. Yeah, he didn't live to see daylight." Jill's eyes widen.

"You..you killed-" Annie shakes her head.

"No, I did not," she chuckles. "I kneed him in the balls." Jill laughs.

"You go girl! You protect that womanhood. I can understand that. In my graduation year, about one year before the outbreak, a guy names Paul had asked me out to dinner. And we talked and dated for a while. And then he hooked up with my sister" Annie laughs.

"You had a sister?" she laughs at her. Jill snorts, nodding.

"Yup. She was a slut. I didn't like her that much. But apparently, my good for nothing boyfriend did." Annie smirks.

"Too bad we don't have wine to raise a toast to that," she comments. Jill's eyes widen and she reaches into the basket. Annie raises an eyebrow, actually expecting a wine bottle to pop out of nowhere, but all that came out were two bottles of water. She smiles. "I actually thought you were going to take wine out of there," she laughs. Jill smiles.

"No, we don't have wine. But we do have these," she says, twisting off the cap of one and handing it to Annie. She twists off the other top and raises her bottle. "To asshole boyfriends who don't know what they're missing," she states. Annie laughs and raises her bottle, knocking it to hers happily.

"Amen to that," she replies, taking a sip. Jill takes one as well and places it down.

"What about Carol?" she suddenly says. "Hasn't she had it out for you since the day you came here?" she asks. Annie shakes her head.

"I know Carol and I don't have the...best history, but she apologized for everything she did before the people came in, and I believe her. I don't think she would mindlessly let two men take two little girls and let them beat them half to death," she replies. Jill bites her lip.

"I don't know Annie. She's really not sane. You know about her condition," she states. Annie thinks about it for a second. Could Carol had helped them in? Didn't she apologize the day before for everything she had tried to do? Now that she thought about it, Carol was actually a good contender for who helped them, but deep down Annie didn't want to believe it. The two had just started to get on good terms and now this was happening. She bites her lip as well, tearing a small piece of skin from it as she did so.

"I'm honestly just so tired, Jill. It could be her, I don't know. We still don't have any proof that it was her. We need to find something to help us in this. Until then, she's innocent until proven guilty." Jill sighs, nodding her head.

"I get that," she says. Annie decides to change the subject. This was too much drama for a supposed relaxing day.

"How's Ellie and Ariel doing?" she asks politely. Jill's eyes lit up at the names.

"Great! Both are starting..." And Annie listens on and on. She could take this over the other conversation any day.

* * *

Hallie wanted to leave the infirmary and go outside and play. It made her so mad that she couldn't leave, all because of her stupid ankle. She hated that those people had purposely sprained her ankle, and now she couldn't go out. She wished she had coloring books by her at all times. At least then she would have something to do.

She looks outside the window and sees Ariel and Ellie playing in the distance near the grownups and some of the other kids. Hallie crosses her arms. She wished she could go and play with them. Both were her age and she was stuck inside, on a bed, with nothing to do, while Kelly was asleep in the other room. Heck, she wished she could go in there and see her then stay in the bed. It stunk.

She hears the door open to the right and she was expecting Rachel to come in with more medicine and bandages for her gashes and her pained ankle, but was instead surprised when she Daryl walk through. She knew he had been busy wondering who had helped Blake get out and helped Joel get in. But right now, she needed all the entertainment she could get, or else she would die of boredom. She smiles.

"Daddy," she says happily. He offers her a crooked smile.

"Hey, baby girl," he replies walking over to her bed. She gestures her head towards the window.

"I wanna go outside," she whines. "It's so BORING in here." He chuckles at her attitude of the situation. Yeah, he knew it was boring in here. He couldn't blame her.

"Can't. Doctors orders," he states simply. She grumbles and crosses her arms.

"And it stinks," she comments. "I wanna play with Ellie and Ariel. But both wanted to go outside. I hate having a sprained ankle," she mumbles quietly. Daryl shrugs his shoulders.

"Yeah, those suck. But ya just gotta power through 'em," he replies. "And through the boredom. Trust me, I've had worse injuries then that." She cocks her head.

"How?" she asks innocently. Daryl stares at the girl for a second. She was so little. She wouldn't get it at her age. But knowing Hallie she would keep going if it killed her to find out how he got worse injuries.

"Ya remember your old dad?" he asks slowly. She nods, her head still slightly crooked. "Well, uh, my dad was sort of like tha'...only a bit worse." She stares for a second then nods, knowing what he was talking about. She had a feeling that it would be something like what Kelly had gone through. She didn't like knowing that someone else went through the same thing. It made her sad.

"That's not nice," she mumbles. Daryl chuckles a bit bitterly.

"Nah, it's not," he replies. She looks up.

"Is your daddy gone too?" she asks. He nods.

"For a while," he replies. She smiles innocently.

"Well, you're a better daddy then my old one. All he ever did was yell at us. You're nicer," she states. He chuckles at that.

"Thanks, Hallie," he replies, slightly surprised she had said he was 'nicer.' But he knew he wasn't the same guy he was a few years ago. He sure as hell didn't picture himself with a woman like Annie and two little girls like Kelly and Hallie. Guess he did change for the better, even if he still sort of refused believe it himself.

"Is Kelly ok?" she asks. "I didn't get to see her." Daryl nods.

"Yeah, she's getting better. Still can't really walk though."

"Is she asleep right now?" she asks hopefully. Daryl nods.

"Yup." She slumps and huffs, crossing her arms over her chest again.

"Dang it," she mumbles. "Where's mama?" she asks. Daryl smiles a bit. It still felt new to have someone call her that, even after all this time, but he still answered none the less.

"Went out with Jill to have a day, I guess," he replies.

"Did you find out who let them in yet?" she asks. Daryl shakes his head.

"Still haven't." Hallie bites her lip.

"I don't know about this, but when Joel said he had help from someone, I just woke up, but I still pretended to be asleep for Kelly. I heard him say it was a woman with short hair. But that's all I heard from that." This girl had just helped him more then he could tell. There was a finite amount of people in the zone that had short hair.

"That helps a lot, Hallie. Because of that, we'll find out quicker now." She smiles.

"So I helped?" He nods.

"Ya sure did." Her smile widens.

"Does that mean I can go outside?" she asks. Daryl slaps his hand to his forehead. Damn, this girl was more persistent then he thought.

"No, sweetie," he replies, snickering slightly. She pouts.

"Dang it!"

* * *

**Review? :)**


	38. Memories

Thanks for being so patient with this chapter! I've had so much shit going on this week, and this has also been my brain going crazy as of last week. But now I'm writing this chapter for you all, and I can't wait to see what happens. Now, let's move on with this story.

* * *

**Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining**  
**Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying**  
**She's so beautiful**  
**And I tell her everyday.**

**Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me**  
**And it's so, it's so sad to think that she doesn't see what I see**  
**But every time she asks me do I look okay?**  
**I say**

**When I see your face**  
**There's not a thing that I would change**  
**'Cause you're amazing**  
**Just the way you are**

**_-Just The Way You Are (Bruno Mars)_**

* * *

Kelly was starting to get quite restless in the bed she was in. She had nearly been in the same room for a week and a half. And the anxiety was starting to trickle into her body. She never liked staying in one place for a long time. She would get fidgety and she would then get restless and soon she would try to escape the place she was in. Plus, staying in the bed reminded her of the hospital. There were several cots all around her at that point, and remembering that brought shivers all up her spine every single time.

She leans up in her cot and stares outside the window that hung on the wall across the room. In the distance she saw Hallie finally outside with all her little friends, playing with the new girl, Ellie, she had learned her name was. She was faintly let outside the day before, and she was living it up. Kelly had learned that Hallie HATED staying inside.

And so did Kelly.

She leaned back in the bed and sighed. It looked so nice outside. It didn't even seem that cold as it had been a few weeks ago. Looking down at her legs, she sees that they were still bruised, and bandages were still wrapped around them, as they were all over her body, but she desperately needed to get out of this end or else she would surely go insane.

The one thing she hated was that she still could barely remember what Joel had said to her. She remembered certain key points, certain little things, but she couldn't remember the whole entire conversation. And that she knew someone helped them, but she couldn't remember who had let them in. She wanted to help her parents out with this, but her brain just didn't seem to want to remember the talk.

Either way, she still needed to get out of the bed. She slowly dragged her legs to the edge of the bed and adjusted her body. There was still a bit of pain that surged through her body at the sudden movement, but she fought it off and continued to try and get her feet on the ground.

Is this what a baby felt like taking it's first steps? Scared to even set its feet on the ground? Afraid it might fall? If it was, that was exactly what Kelly was feeling. The floor looked so far away. What if she slipped on the slippery floor and fell to the pavement? What if she cracker her head open? What if-

She shook these thoughts from her head. Here she was, in the apocalypse, scared that she might slip and fall, when there were zombies walking right outside their zone, ready to eat their brains. She shouldn't be scared. She was brave. She was strong. If she could survive what happened at the hospital, then she could do this.

Taking a deep breath, she launches herself off the bed and feels her feet hit the ground. Her knees buckle under the new pressure and before she could fall she latched her hands onto the bed posts to keep herself up. She closes her eyes to scare the fears that were creeping up her body slowly. She could do this. She was strong. She just had to keep repeating that over and over.

She opens her eyes and slowly looks down at her feet. They looked so new on the floor, something she hadn't touched in a while except when someone would help her to the bathroom. She hadn't walked by herself in such a long time. She lifts one leg up and tests it out. A little pain here and there, but other then that, it was moveable. She lifted the same leg up again and took a step. She didn't slip.

She takes the other leg and moves the up a bit, taking another step forward on the floor. She didn't slip. She slowly lets go of the bed posts and leans her hands against the bed, as she moved her feet across the dark brown surface, keeping her eyes on them at all times. Whens he reached the end of the bed, she took a deep breath and took one more step, then takes her hands off the bed.

Looking down and then back up, she sees that she was standing perfectly, and that she was not going to be falling. She takes another step, and her body supports her. Another, and another, and another, until she got to the doorway. She was walking again, all by herself.

Some pain started to settle in her lower region near her hips, so her grabbed the side of the wall and leaned slightly against it to keep herself balanced. She could feel the chilly breeze from the open door down the hallway as she slowly made her way towards it. When she reached the knob, she pulled it open slightly and peeked outside at the playing children. They were playing tag.

The sun blared down on her face when she stepped outside, holding onto the door gently. She made her way to the steps and sat down in the sunlight, just listening to the outside world. The birds chirping, the kids playing, and just finally feeling happy since she was in that a stupid room.

Until she heard Hallie yell at her.

"Kelly!" she screamed, running over to her sister on the steps. Kelly opened her eyes and was slightly surprised to see her sister running full speed at her with open arms. Her eyes widened when Hallie jumped on her and squeezed the air out of her lungs. "You're OK!" she says happily.

"Hurting...me...Hallie," she chokes out. Hallie's grip loosens and she pulls back and embarrassed smile on her face.

"Oops," she states. Kelly smiles calmly at her and gives her a one armed hug.

"It's fine, sis," she states. Hallie smiles and looks behind her and the kids coming her way. Ellie ran up to Hallie with a shy smile on her face. Kelly smiles at her. "You must be Ellie. I'm Kelly," she says, sticking her hand out. The little girl shook it shyly and takes her hand back as soon as she put it out. That was something Kelly would work on. Getting this girl out of her shell.

"Mommy and daddy have been working really hard," Hallie states. "To figure out who helped them take us. I helped them!" Kelly senses the pride in her voice and her brow furrows. How the hell had she helped them? She cocked her head.

"How did you help them?" she asks, a bit disappointed that her little sister had helped them but she hadn't been able to do anything. Hallie smiles.

"When Joel was taking to you, I pretended to be asleep. He said that the person who helped them had short hair. And that it was woman." Kelly's brow furrows even more. That rung a bell. A very, VERY loud bell. She looks down at her feet and thinks back.

"What's she doing?" Ellie asks quietly. Hallie shrugs.

"Thinking?" she answers back questionably. "Kelly, what are you doing?" Kelly shakes her head and lays her hands on her head. She needed to think. Something was coming back to her head. She could feel it building up. That's when she heard a voice.

"Kelly!" she hears. "You're up!" She looks up from her spot on the ground and sees Carol coming her way towards the kid. Kelly's brow furrows when she stops in front of her. "How are you feeling?" she asks. Kelly's eyes widened when it all came back to her.

_"Well, we went there, and it seemed to be sort of a bust. All there was were a few starving people and a sign that said to go to this place called 'Aasim.' So we took the people and we fed them, and they became quite devoted to us. When we found the place, we heard your little mama's voice, Annie talking to another women. Jill, I think her name is? And when i found this out, i started to plan to get in, but realized the place was too heavily guarded to even try to get in. But then I met this women who didn't really like Annie. Said that she 'stole Daryl from her' or something like that." Kelly's eyes widened. She knew who it was._

_"So the women told us about Blake and everything because she wanted Annie gone. Little did she know that we would lurk Daryl here as well. Oh well for her. So she led us in, and she led us to Blake, and we let him out."_

Carol stared at her with a worried look on her face when she didn't reply. Kelly stares at her for a second before shaking her head and forcing a smile on her face.

"I'm good, Carol," she states softly. "Just feel a bit of pain. Not a lot, but still." Carol smiles and walks away. Kelly noticed that she seemed to walk a bit quicker then before. Kelly looks down at the rfeet and then back at her sister with a determined look on her face.

"What?" she asks.

"Where's mom and dad?" she asks. Hallie points to outside the zone.

"They went on a run with a bunch of other people. Had to get other stuff." Kelly swears very quietly down at the ground, but Hallie hears. "Mommy and daddy say not to use those words!" Hallie whispers harshly.

"I know who helped them," she states quietly. Hallie looks at her confused.

"Who?" she asks.

"Carol!" she says. Hallie's eyes widen.

"What?" she asks unbelievably. "No, she's always so nice to us! She would never hurt us like that! It has to be someon-"

"Did you ever think that all her niceness was just an act, Hallie?" she says. Hallie cocks her head.

"An act?" she asks confused. Kelly sighs. Sometimes she forgot this kid was four.

"She lies. Lying. Think about it," she states, trying to use words a four year old would understand. "Carol never liked mommy because she likes daddy." Hallie looks down at her hands and thinks.

"I saw Carol looking at him once," she state quietly. Kelly nods.

"And Carol knew that we mean a lot to mommy. So she helped Blake and Joel take us so that she could lead mommy to the hospital. She knew Joel would try to kill mommy, and once she was gone, she could have daddy all to herself." Hallie's face screws up in a disgusted look.

"I don't want her as my mommy!" she states disgusted. Kelly laughs quietly.

"She's not, and she never will be. Mommy's still alive. And as soon as they get back, we're telling them. Go tell Ellie first though. The more that know, the better."

* * *

The mall that the group was in smelled like old sewage that was waiting to be drained from some weird house. Annie made her way slowly through the old superstore that she and a few other people were in. It was weird to be in a mall after staying in the zone for such a long time. Other then going out with Jill that one time to get some air from everything, she had stayed in the zone. And now, she was finally out to get some more supplies.

She walks down on of the isles and smiles sadly at the contents. A bunch of baby supplies. She sighs when she walks over to the end and sees an unused crib, ready to be put in a nursery of some sort to shelter a baby and let it fall asleep. There were toys, some baby food, diapers, feeding chairs, clothes...so many baby things. It was like this one part of the store was completely and utterly untouched. She knew Rachel would like some more of this stuff back at the infirmary for the babies with no parents.

Placing some of the stuff in her bag, she thinks back to when she was a little kid and she would roam the streets of New York City with Jill. Sometimes they would come across a baby in a stroller and wave to it or offer goofy faces to make it smile or laugh. Sometimes they would walk inside a store and look at all the baby food. They had even tasted some once and realized why babies didn't really like it.

A few times they had talked about when they got older and got married and had kids. Jill had always wanted a baby boy and then a baby girl so that the boy could protect his little sister. That hadn't worked out the way things planned in this world, but she was still happy none the less. Annie, on the other hand, had always wanted a little girl. Someone she could actually treat like a how a little girl was supposed to be treated, not the fucked up way she was treated when she was younger. She had wanted to buy little pink clothes for her little girl and little stuffed animals. A brown crib to lay her in. A food chair to feed her. Dolls to play with her.

She had had a few visions in the past. Don't get her wrong, she was happy with Kelly and Hallie. She loved those girls so much. But she had seen in her mind a little girl, one with her hair and Daryl's blue eyes. She would have her smile and would love to play outside, just like Kelly and Hallie. She would love to hear her mommy sing to her and when she was older, she would want to learn how to play piano. She would laugh and fall asleep easily like a little girl should. She would just be like a little girl should be.

But every time she stabbed a walker, or thought back to what happened to Kelly and Hallie, she realized that would be impossible in this world. The baby could never have a normal life. Never. Not the one that Annie wanted to give her. She would have to grow up knowing how to kill. What sort of baby needs that in their life? She didn't want anything like that to happen to a new kid in her life like what happened to Kelly and Hallie. She never wanted that to happen. She didn't need to feel that stress again after what had just happened.

She places some of the food in her bag and looks at the bins to see the expiration dates. There was none. Wasn't there always an expiration date when it came to that shit? she shrugs her shoulders and places the bottles in her pockets and walks further down the isles. She reaches the clothes and sees Jill and Rick talking in the distance. She smiles a bit. She knew those two had gotten quite close. Sometimes she wondered if anything was going on between them.

Grabbing a shirt off the rack, she places it in her bag and walks over to the other side of the isle and sees Daryl looking at something she would never expect a man like him to look at. Little kids clothes. Clothes that would fit Kelly and Hallie. She lets out a giggle when she sees him take a dress into his arms. He looks up at the sound and drops the piece of clothing onto the ground when he realizes he was caught. She walks over and picks it up, smiling at him.

"Shopping for the girls?" she asks, snickering slightly. She sees his cheeks turn a rosy pink at his embarrassment, but he tries to cover it up by rolling his eyes.

"Just saw 'em and I thought they would like 'em," he grumbles, leaving the isle. She laughs and grabs his hand, pulling him back.

"Relax, I'm joking," she chuckles. "I find it very sweet." She looks at the dress in her hands as he looks into her bag. His brow furrows.

"What's with all the baby stuff?" he asks. She shrugs.

"Rachel needs more stuff back at the infirmary. I found a shit lode of it a few isles back." She places the dress back in his bag and grabs a few toys off the shelf. "sure they'll want these," she states.

"Ya ever want one?" he asks. She turns to him with a raise eyebrow.

"What?" she asks. He shrugs his shoulders and looks back at the shelf, taking a few of the things.

"You know...little kid, a baby," he state quietly. She sees that he was slightly embarrassed to be asking that as well. She smiles softly and nods.

"Yeah, when I was younger. A little girl. I still want one," she sighs. "But in todays world? That seems almost impossible. Especially after what happened with Kelly and Hallie I wouldn't want another kid to get involved in that. We don't even know who helped them yet."

"Hallie gave us somethin'," he replies, taking her bag off her shoulders. Her brow furrows.

"I could carry that," she replies. he shrugs again and walks out of the isle, her bag with her. She snickers at his back and catches up to him. "Yeah, she did, but there's still a bunch of women in the area with short hair. And who knows who's going to tell the truth." She sees Jill and Rick at the front door with a bag in her hand. She smiles at Annie.

"You ready to go?" she asks. Annie nods.

"Ready to fly."

* * *

When the group had arrived back at the zone, they had all gotten greetings from everyone else. Annie had gone to the infirmary at first to stop by and drop off the baby supplies. Whens he steps inside, Rachel was already by the door. Annie's brow furrows when she sees the bright smile on the woman's face.

"What's so awesome?" she chuckles. Rachel nods her head towards the room Kelly was in and takes the bag from Annie's hands. Annie looks at her strangely for as second before going towards the room and peeking inside. Kelly wasn't in her bed. Her eyes widen. "Where the heck is Kelly?"

"Walking! She's good enough to walk again! Well, limp a bit, but she's standing by herself. She's near the park with Hallie," she says happily. Annie smiles a bit at this. To be honest, she had been getting slightly scared that Kelly wouldn't be able to walk again because she hadn't been able to really move her legs that much, but all that stress seemed to have melted away at that point.

"Did you help her out?" Rachel shakes her head,

"Nope! She got out all by herself! I was in the cafeteria to bring her back something to eat when I saw her on the steps with Hallie and Ellie. It's amazing." She digs deep into the bag and smiles. "Thanks for all this stuff. This will help Mia and all the other kids here." Annie smiles at her.

"No problem," she replies. "Where's Ellie and Hallie?"

"Both are with Kelly at the playground across town. They're fine. Quite happy that she's out of here. Was starting to get worried that she wasn't moving." Annie chuckles, heading towards the door.

"I know," she laughs, leaving the building and heading towards the playground. She waves high to a couple of people as she makes her way there. When she starts to see the swings in the distance, she sees a few people start to run towards the gates, but she only guessed it was to greet the others that had come back. Whens she sees the two little girls on the back of the swings and Kelly sitting on the slide, she smiles even wider. "Hey girls," she calls out.

All three of them look up at the same time and bolt off their seats. Both Hallie and Ellie go to Kelly to help her get to Annie faster then she could, and Annie's brow furrows when they see the look of determination on all three of their faces. Annie walks towards them to make their walk a little more painless.

"What's going on?" she asks worriedly, coming down to her eye level. Kelly stops in front of her to gain her breath from the pain in her legs, but Hallie continues for her.

"Kelly knows who helped them," she says. Annie's eyes widen.

"What?" she asks quickly. Ellie nods.

"She remembered!" she says joyfully. Annie places her hands on the little girls shoulders and makes her eyes lock with hers. Kelly looked tired, and a bit troubled. Something told Annie that it wasn't just the part about who helped her she remembered.

"Who is it, sweetie?" she asks quietly. Kelly swallows some spit in her throat.

"Carol," she whispers out. Annie's brow furrows in confusion.

"What?" she asks. Kelly starts to go all out.

"Joel said that there was a woman with short hair that helped him get in, and that she said that you were 'stealing her man.' Who else could it be besides Carol?" she explains. Annie looks down at the ground to think. But Carol had apologized to her. She had said she was sorry and would never...

That sneaky, lying, little bitch!

Annie looks up and nods. "I can't believe you remembered," she whispers. "How are you feeling?" Kelly shrugs, and then throws her arms around Annie's neck in a surprise hug. Annie wraps her arms around her after her shock worn off.

"I don't like remembering it, mommy," she whispers. Annie holds her tighter at the little girls distressed voice. "I don't like it at all."

"I know sweetie," she replies. "It won't happen again."

"Is Carol going to be gone?" she asks when she pulls back. Annie nods.

"Trust me, she will. Where is-"

"Annie!" she hears from behind her. She whips her head around to see Jill running at her at full speed. Annie let's go of Kelly and stands up. Jill leans on her knees, trying to catch her breath, but comes back up a moment later.

"We have a-

"I know-"

Both start at the same time, and Jill waves her hand to go on.

"I know who helped the two in. Kelly told me," she says happily. Jill frowns at this and looks down. "What's wrong? We know who it is!"

"That's great and all, but we have a little problem, so that's going to have to wait." Annie's brow furrows. What on earth could be more important then this?

"What?"

"There's a person from the hospital here," she breathes out sadly. "And he wants to talk to you." Annie places her hands on her hips and sighs. Looks like Carol would have to wait. She would murder this person who came here. No doubts in her mind.

"Take the girls to the house and keep them there. I'll take care of this," she mentions sadly. Jill nods and takes Ellie in her arms, and makes Kelly and Hallie follow her. Kelly looks back worried for a second and Annie offers her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, honey. Everything will be fine."

Kelly stares for a second before nodding and following Jill back to the house. Annie looks to where the gates were and sighs. Time to take care of business

* * *

**Review? :)**


	39. 27 Years Ago

God, school is KILLING me. And it doesn't help that I've bee sick. I haven't had time to write for this story in such a while. Thank you for being so patient! And thanks for the new reviews and follows! Freaking school and colds. They want to kill me man! This chapter might be short, but that's only because I have finals coming up and i need to study lol

* * *

**Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning **  
**Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile **  
**I watch her go with a surge of that well known sadness **  
**And I have to sit down for a while **  
**The feeling that I'm losing her forever **  
**And without really entering her world **  
**I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter **  
**That funny little girl **

**Slipping through my fingers all the time **  
**I try to capture every minute **  
**The feeling in it **  
**Slipping through my fingers all the time **  
**Do I really see what's in her mind **  
**Each time I think I'm close to knowing **  
**She keeps on growing **  
**Slipping through my fingers all the time **

_-**Slipping Through My Fingers (ABBA)**_

* * *

Worried-ness was etched onto people's faces as Annie made her way to the gates to see what the hell was going on. She did not have the time for this nor did she want to have the time for this. After everyone had heard of what happened to the kids at the hospital, everyone had been on edge and afraid. And now it showed more then ever. Rachel even looked terrified. Annie couldn't blame her though. She had been the one to clean up all the wounds from the kids, and if she had to do that for another person Annie knew she would throw up.

Annie walks to the gates and sees Jill and crew pointing their weapons at the intruder. Annie climbs up the ladder that led to the platform that they stayed on, and saw the Jill and Daryl were right next to each other. She walks up and places a hand on j both of their shoulders, telling them to lower the weapons. Both of them looked at her like she was crazy, but she simply nods her head and tells them to do the same thing. Eventually the weapons lower and the two give the signal for the others to lower their weapons as well.

She walks out so that she could see the two people, while Daryl and Jill followed close behind. Looking in front of them, she sees not one person, but two, with a small bundle in one of their arms. It was a man and a woman with a small baby. The man was tall, just about the height of Daryl, and had shaggy black hair, with glasses laying on top of his nose, and from a distance, she could see he had green eyes. He sort of reminded Annie of Harry Potter. But a lot more buff and fit Harry Potter.

The other woman was a mystery to Annie. In fact, it sort of looked like an older version of her. She had her brown hair and her green eyes, even her lean built. She was around her height as well. A sudden thought passed through her head, but she shook it away. No. That could never be. She knew her mother wasn't here. She looked at the little baby in her arms and sees the woman holding her lovingly. Yeah, that definitely wasn't her mother. Her mother never wanted her, let alone held her like that. Both of the parents looked to be in their mid-forties.

"Who are you?" Annie asks from above. The woman looks up with a panicked look on her face.

"My name is Aliza, and this is my husband, Jose, and our daughter, Carla. Please, mam, we're not like the people at the hospital. They were going to take our daughter from us. We had to go." The husband nods at this.

"If we didn't leave they would have killed us." Annie stares at the small group for a minute before sighing. She turned to Jill, who had a pitiful look on her face at the small child.

"They have a kid," she mouths to her. "You know what that feels like." Annie thinks for a moment. Yes, that was true. She did know what it felt like for people to just take her children away, but there was still something else about these people, and to be honest, she wanted to find out.

"Search them for weapons!" she exclaims to the whole who was watching the little family. "Find any, take them away. Send them to me to talk to them afterwards." Almost immediately, the group carries out what she says and takes the family inside, while Annie climbs down onto the ground and places the hair in her eyes behind her ear. Daryl comes up to her with a furrowed brow.

"Are ya sure ya want to trust these people, Annie? It could be just another trick," he whispers. She spares glance over at the two and realizes how tired they looked. How starving they seemed. They looked like they hadn't had a real meal in days, and they needed a shower badly. They just looked like they needed somewhere to stay. She looks back at Daryl and shakes her head.

"I don't think they are," she replies honestly. "I believe them. And there's something about that woman. I need to talk to them. They might know stuff that we don't. They could help us, Daryl. They...shit, I almost forgot," she says, slapping her hand to her head in frustration.

"What?" he asks confused. He was trying to figure out what was going on in this girls head.

"Kelly remembered who helped Joel and Blake in!" she says. His eyes narrow.

"Who?" he practically growls, looking around the zone. She rolls her eyes and takes his arm, pulling him over to the side. She looks over to Jill.

"Jill! Bring them to the main hall! I'll be there in a second." Jill nods and takes the woman's arm in her hand. Annie sees the woman glance back at her with a desperate look for a moment, before turning her head and walking towards the hall with her husband and kid. Yeah, there was so something up with this woman.

Pulling him over to the side, she made sure that they were out of earshot so that no one would here. She had to figure out how to do this carefully, and having many people know was not that.

"It was Carol," she whispers. His eyes go wide at this.

"What?" he asks incredulously. "There's no way...she wouldn't do something like that." Annie closes her eyes in frustration. She knew it would be hard to convince him that it was her unless she up and came out and said it, which Annie knew wouldn't happen.

"Daryl, she's already killed two people-"

"That was for a completely different reason," he interrupts.

"But it was still bad, Daryl. Think about it, she doesn't like me at all. And she apologized to me, yeah, I know that, but that was the night before they were taken. She was just fooling me into thinking she was beginning to like me because she wanted to play dumb! And because of me believing she was able to help Blake and Joel in! She's manipulative and a liar." Daryl looks down and Annie could see he was having a hard time believing this.

"I can't see her doin' that, Annie. It just doesn't seem like her to put the lives of kids at risk," he replies sadly. Annie bites her lip and sighs. She places her hand on his chin and forces his head to look up. She makes sure to have eye contact with him, her green eyes looking into his blue ones.

"Daryl, I know she was your friend back at the prison, back at the farm...but she's not that person anymore. She's known you longer, and she's obsessive. That woman wants you and only you, and it's because you looked so hard for Sophia. That's it. Think about it, Daryl. You've done so much for that group, and its your family, but if that little girl had never gotten lost, Carol would probably have never been the friend you had. She's looking at you like you're some trophy because of what you did. And i understand admiring someone, but not the way that she's doing it. She almost killed Kelly, Daryl."

"Ya don't think I know that?" he replies angrily. "I was in that room every single day waitin'." He sits down on the ground and places his head in his hands. Annie sits down next to him, knowing he was having a hard time. "Kelly really said that?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah," she replies. "You can ask her yourself. She's in the house." He looks at her, his brow furrowed again. Last thing he had heard was that she was still in the infirmary. "She's walking again. Though it's still hard for her." He smiles slightly at the news, but goes back to looking back down at the ground a second later.

"Carol," he ends lamely. "She never seemed like this kind of person." Annie shrugs her shoulders.

"No one's the same as who they were before this. Everyone's changed. Obviously, she's changed a bit too much." She moves her head to look at him and raises her hand, brushing the strands od hair covering his eyes. She chuckles quietly. "You still need a haircut," she laughs.

"Does that even matter?" he replies, but she sees a bit of a smirk on his face. She hmms at question.

"Especially when you're aiming with that crossbow. You're gonna miss your shot. All because your damn hair is covering your eyes." He snickers a bit at this, shaking his head. She leans up and places a small kiss on his lips, and he responds as soon as her lips touch his. When she pulls back, she sighs. "What're we gonna do?"

He sighs and looks down. "I'll tell Rick and the others. Ya go talk to that woman and see what we can figure out." She nods and takes his hand, bringing him up as she stands.

"You ok?" she asks. He shrugs his shoulders.

"I guess," was his reply. "Still can't believe it," he mumbles. She smiles sadly.

"It sucks," she says quietly. "But it's what has to be done. I'm going to go talk to the family. You talk to them, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Annie felt like shit. Seeing Daryl's face after she told him it was Carol made him look like a lost puppy. She knew they had had a good friendship before all of this, and that she was the first person in the original group he was in that gave a shit about him, but she needed to tell him. And she sort of regretted it. She never saw him so lost and confused for the moment.

Walking to the main hall, she remembers that this was the right decision. This would be the answer to what they had been looking for for the past few weeks. The traitor would be gone, and most of the stress would just lift off her shoulders. But she still felt like crap.

She walks into the main hall and sees people all around one of the room, waiting for her to come in and talk to the people. Jill comes up to her and pulls her to the side so that she could talk. She raises an eyebrow at Annie. "So, did you talk to him?"

"He was so shocked," Annie says sadly. "He looked like a kid who jet found out his dog died." Jill's brow furrows as she crosses her arms.

"Was there something going on between them?" she asks. Annie snickers quietly, but shakes her the thought made her cringe.

"No, there was nothing going on, but before all of this they were close. They had a nice friendship, but apparently Carol wanted more." Jill sighs, shaking her head at the craziness of the woman.

"Have you seen her anywhere since we got back?" she murmurs. Annie's head shakes.

"No, I haven't." Jill bites her lip and leans against the wall.

"I think she knew that someone had figured it out. She's hiding somewhere." She looks back into the main room and then back at Annie. "You talk to the people, I'll talk to Nickson and Nicky to help me look for the bitch. I know she's not in her house." Annie begins to talk over her, but Jill places a hand up, effectively stopping her in her tracks. "Annie, this can't go on for much longer. We need to find her, and this is the only way. Now, go in there and talk to them. Might be useful."

Annie smiles and hugs her friend as hard as she could. Jill sighs and hugs her back. She wasn't going to let these people go through what happened at the hospital again. Not if she could stop it.

Annie pulls back and goes into the room where everyone was. One of the guards looks up and points at the double doors down the hall. Annie nods at him and she goes down there quickly and silently, wanting to get this over with so she could help Jill. When she reaches the doors, she places her hand on one of the knobs and slowly opens.

She steps inside and sees the family on the couch, the baby now asleep. The two grownups look up with hope in their eyes, yet fear as well. Annie sits on the desk facing opposite the couch, crossing her arms over her chest.

"First off, I'm not going to kill you, so you don't need to sit there like you're some injured puppy that just got kicked in the ribs." She sees the two relax on instant, and she smiles a bit, knowing that she just took probably a boatload of stress off of them. "But, you're still from the hospital, and we really don't like that place."

"Please miss..." the man starts, knowing that he didn't know her name.

"Annie," she fills in for him.

"Ms. Annie. We're not like Joel and Blake. We honestly just went with him to secure our daughter. We didn't want to be out in the forest with a newborn. We never supported his side, but we had to go along if we wanted to survive. After what happened weeks ago, we realized that we couldn't stay there with our baby daughter there, so we went out to go here and help you. We have some information that I think you'd like to know."

"It's not a lot," the woman interrupts, cradling the little girl in her arms.

"But's it's enough," the man finishes. Annie stares at the two for a moment before firing her questions at them.

"Is Blake dead?" The man nods.

"He's gone."

"Is Joel dead." He shakes his head.

"No, he's not. The man that knocked him out didn't do enough brain damage. He's still alive." 'Damn it' she thinks inwardly.

"Are they planning some sort of attack?" At this the man and woman were silent until he spoke.

"We think they are. They're waiting until the moment you least expect. Joel still wants your head on a plate, as well as the man who hurt him." Annie smirks inwardly. Daryl could take his ass in seconds.

"Is there anyone else like you we should be expecting in the coming days? Or even hours?" The woman shakes her head.

"As for as we know, we were the only two to get out before Joel went crazy." Annie's brow furrows.

"What do you mean went crazy?"

"The man did do some brain damage, though," the man chuckles. "Joel started to say weird stuff and say plans that everyone knew would not work, and then he started to talk to someone who wasn't there. It was like he was hallucinating. And since there were no real doctors there, he's stuck with it." Annie chuckles.

"Damn, Daryl," she mumbles under her breath. The woman looks at Annie with pity in her eyes.

"Are the kids ok?" she asks. Annie's head snaps up to hers. "The one that you and the rest went in to get. Are they ok?" Annie looks back down at the floor and nods.

"Yeah, yeah they are," she says quietly. She looks back up and sits back on the desk. "Listen, you two look harmless, and I'm not going to send you out into the world with a baby that needs taking care of. But if I suspect one trace of dishonesty, one speck of betrayal, you're out. After what happened to Kelly and the kids, we're very lean on letting new people in." The man nods heavily.

"We got it," he replies. She smiles.

"What are your names again?"

"Jose," he says, pointing to himself. "My wife is Aliza, and our daughter is Carla." Annie nods.

"Nice spanish family?"

"I'm Mexican, and she's Puerto Rican." Annie looks at the woman and feels that connection again, and that was when she knew she had to speak to this woman.

"What a coincidence. I'm Puerto Rican as well." She nods her head towards the door. "Jose, how about you go and talk to the men outside to see where you and your family can stay? I want to talk to Aliza about the kids here. What we do with them." Jose nods.

"Thank you so much for taking us in," he states finally, when he was just about to go. Annie smiles at him.

"Just follow what I say and we won't have any problems." Jose smiles and exits, and Annie closes the door behind him. She places her hands on the wood and sighs. "Why do I feel like I know you?" she asks. The woman adjusts herself on the couch and holds the baby close to her chest.

"You do," she says quietly. Annie looks over at the woman and sits on the edge of the desk again, trying to figure out where this was going and why she felt like this. "I'm your mother."

Well, there it was.

She felt her head get lightheaded and she had to sit down on the desk, not lean. She placed her head in her hands and felt like she was going to hurl. "What?" she asks breathless.

"I'm your mother," the woman repeats. Annie looks up with confused eyes and shakes her head.

"There's no way," she mumbles.

"May 15th, 27 years ago," the woman starts, and Annie looks up at that confirmation. That was her birthday. "I had just turned 16 a week before, and had just had a baby. I named her Annabeth Lillian, but I couldn't take care of her. I was too young, and didn't have anyone to help me. My mother was dead, and my father was never around. I dropped her off at an orphanage, without anyone knowing, but I knew that she would have a better life there then she would with me."

Annie sits down on the floor, her chin sat on her legs, looking up in wonder at the woman in front of her. This...this was really happening...she needed answers.

"I...I...What was the orphanage street?"

"34th street, at the end, near Macys." Annie feels her breath stop. This woman was her mother. Her biological mother. She knew there was some sort of connection.

"Wow," she simply states. The woman nods.

"Wow indeed," she softly says. "Small world." Annie snorts.

"Even smaller now," she concludes. She moves up to the couch and looks at the little girl in her arms. "So...that's my sister?" Aliza nods. "Can I hold her?" She places the little girl in her arms and Annie smiles down at her. The girls eyes open and explore Annie's face, something new. "She's got your eyes."

"Your eyes as well," Aliza states. Annie smiles. "I heard that they call you Annie." She nods her head back and forth.

"Yeah, they do. I've always been called that. Annabeth's just too long to say I guess." Aliza laughs and Annie smiles. The little girl hears her mother laughing and smiles cutely up at them. Annie laughs. "Hey there, Carla," she whispers to her. "How old is she?"

"1 and one month." Annie smiles slightly and looks back up at Aliza, now holding Carla close.

"Did you ever regret it? Leaving me, I mean." Aliza looks down at her feet for a second before nodding a bit.

"Yeah, I did, at times. Hear me out, Annabeth," she starts, and Annie smiles at the name. She had a feeling she wouldn't be called Annie form her. "If I could have kept you, I would. But I couldn't. No one was there to help me." Annie's brow furrows.

"Not even the father?" she asks. Aliza snorts at this.

"Definitely not the father. He was a dirtbag who seduced me. I was a dumb kid. I can see you aren't." Annie snorts at this back to her.

"Oh I was. Trust me. Didn't get pregnant though." She places the little girl back in Aliza's arms and sighs. "How long have you and Jose been together?"

"Since the beginning," she replies easily.

"Are there any other siblings I should know of?" she asks. Aliza laughs.

"No, just this one," she says happily, pointing to Carla. Annie smiles.

"Good," good she chuckles. Aliza looks at Annie and sighs, shaking her head. Annie's brow furrows. "What's wrong?"

"I wish I didn't leave you there," she says sadly. "Sometimes I had visions of what we would have done together. All the adventures we would have. I would be everything, and then I realized that it was too late and you had already slipped through my fingers." Annie smiles small at her.

"Well, I can't really reply to that," she chuckles. "Life sucks, especially now. But we've met, and I already feel like we've known each other since forever. It's that sort of connection. And I'm happy. I finally feel like some sort of memory has been filled." Aliza smiles at this.

"I can see you grew up into a fine young woman," she says, looking at her face. Annie smiles innocently.

"I mean, look at you. You're gorgeous for your age...how old are you?" she chuckles. Aliza laughs.

"43." Annie's eyebrow's rise.

"Damn, and you just had your first kid? I mean, besides me," she laughs. Aliza smiles.

"It took me a while to find the one. Sometimes it takes a long time. Sometimes it takes a short time. I fell in love with Jose like how you fall asleep. Slow at first, and then all at once." Annie smiles.

"That's a good saying." Aliza nods her head towards the door.

"What about you? Are you with anyone? Married? Because I have to meet them." Annie laughs.

"Yeah, yeah I am," she chuckles. Aliza's eyebrows raise.

"Really? Who?" she asks. Annie feels her cheeks redden.

"That man next to me when we saw you at the gate?" Her eyes widen.

"No," she says not believing, but Annie nods, a smile on her face. Aliza laughs. "He's yours?! Wow, you have a good radar. He's a good-looking man." Annie smirks at her.

"Hey, he's mine," she states. Aliza laughs.

"I'm just joking. As long as he's good to you." Annie nods.

"He is."

"Are those two kids yours too? The ones that you took back?" Annie nods. "Wow, you've been together a while." Annie laughs.

"No, I haven't gotten pregnant. I met Daryl during all of this, and found those kids with no parents. I took them under my wings and they're mine now." Aliza smiles.

"Such a kind girl," she states. "A beautiful one at that. They're lucky to have you." Annie smiles.

"We're lucky to have you two here. I'm lucky. And so is Carla. Everything will be ok now," she says happily. Aliza smiles and Annie hugs her with one arm, pulling her close. Aliza laughs, knowing she couldn't return the hug at the moment, but the love was still there. But the happy moment was ruined when the door banged open and Jill walked in.

"Annie?" she says confused. Annie looks up and smiles.

"Jill! You will not-"

"Carol's gone." Annie's smile disappears off her face.

"What?" she hisses standing up.

"Carol's left. She's not int he zone. Not anywhere. She's gone." Annie curses under her breath and turns to Aliza, trying to remain as calm as she could.

"Looks like catching up needs to be postponed. We have a bit of a problem." Aliza gets up from her spot on the couch worried.

"Can I help? What is it?" Annie waves her hand.

"Oh, nothing. Just catching a rat."

* * *

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